Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Pellston, Michigan 49769
Saturday, February 10, 2007 21:15 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain during a forced landing at night following a mechanical failure of the engine. Examination of the engine revealed that one of the engine cylinders had failed due to fatigue. The origin of the fatigue region coincided with an area that had been thinned by corrosion. The area in question had been covered by gray paint. Checks performed at the most recent annual inspection revealed normal compression readings on all cylinders.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The fatigue failure of the engine cylinder which resulted in a complete loss of engine power, and the unsuitable terrain encountered by the pilot during the subsequent forced landing. Contributing to the accident were the night lighting condition, and trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/10/2007
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 2115
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Pellston
Event State MICHIGAN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 49769
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2054 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID PLN
Elevation of weather observation facility 720
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Night
Lowest Ceiling Height 2900
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -9
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.01
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
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 2
Injury Total All 4
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23782
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Feb 11 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 30 2008 11:48AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Grand Rapids, Michigan

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4258R
NTSB Number CHI07LA071
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-32-300
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 32-40630
Certified Max Gross Weight 3400
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 5798
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name David M. Garland
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Oxford
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 48371
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
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 No
Departure Airport Code CMX
Departure City HANCOCK
Departure State MI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2000
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code PTK
Destination City PONTIAC
Destination State MI
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 11 2008 7:41AM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --