Winslow-Lindbergh Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Winslow, Arizona 86047
Saturday, March 4, 2006 14:45 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The certificated private pilot, with one passenger, was on a cross-country personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91. Just after takeoff, when the airplane was about 200 feet above the ground, the engine began to run rough and lose power. Emergency procedures did not restore power, and the airplane collided with a barbwire fence during an off-airport forced landing, sustaining substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. The airplane was equipped with a recently installed factory-remanufactured Textron Lycoming IO-540 engine. Postaccident investigation revealed a grayish, soft, rubbery material partially blocking the ports of the fuel flow divider's metering pin. There was no debris discovered in the interior of the fuel injector servo, or in the fuel injector's inlet screen. According to a representative of Textron Lycoming, fuel system components on factory-remanufactured engines are shipped separately. It is the responsibility of the receiving maintenance technician to install the fuel system components on the engine, and ensure that no debris enters the fuel line or fuel flow divider during the installation process. A Safety Board senior metallurgist who examined the gray foreign material was unable to identify the source, but reported it consisted of agglomerations of smaller particles, consistent with a Teflon-like material. The Safety Board metallurgist also reported that the rubbery material was not consistent with fuel supply line material, and no additional debris was found inside the fuel line or within the fuel injector servo.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The presence of a foreign material/substance in the fuel system, which partially blocked the fuel flow divider, and resulted in a loss of engine power during takeoff-initial climb, and an emergency landing. A factor associated with the accident was unsuitable terrain for a forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/4/2006
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1445
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Winslow
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 86047
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 350118N
Event Location Longitude 1104321W
Event Location Airport Winslow-Lindbergh Regional
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KINW
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 4941
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency --
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21262
NTSB Notification Source LAX ROC
NTSB Notification Date Mar 4 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 25 2007 2:54PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Scottsdale FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8322C
NTSB Number ANC06LA021
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-32R-300
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 32R-7680093
Certified Max Gross Weight 3600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jan 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 20
Airframe Hours 6679
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Ronald D. Craig, Trustee, Bruce A. Miller
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Lincoln
Aircraft Owner State NE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 68516
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Ronald D. Craig
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code KINW
Departure City Winslow
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1445
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code KPSP
Destination City PALM SPRINGS
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Climb
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 28 2007 8:55PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 22
Runway Length 7499
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --