Fortunately The People On Board The Airplane Didn't Even Get Stung

The NTSB has released a preliminary report that should serve as a cautionary tale for a complete walk-around inspection, though we're not sure even that would have prevented this incident. The good news is that both the pilot and a passenger survived the accident uninjured.

According to the report, on November 18, 2017, about 1110 EST, a Piper PA28-140, N8758N, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Bladenboro, NC. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. Day, visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan was filed for the local, personal flight that departed Bladenboro Airport (3W6).

In an interview with an FAA inspector, the pilot stated that after takeoff from runway 20, he circled to land on runway 02, but then initiated a go-around. On the downwind leg of the traffic pattern to runway 02, the engine experienced a partial loss of engine power. He turned on the carburetor heat, but it did not restore power to the engine. The airplane was unable to reach the runway, and the pilot elected to land in a small field.

Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed damage to the engine mounts, and wing leading edges. The propeller was manually rotated, and a spark was produced on all spark plug leads. Both fuel tanks were more than half-full of uncontaminated fuel. A mud dauber nest was observed in the carburetor heat control box, which prevented the carburetor heat valve from fully opening.

The four-seat, low-wing airplane was manufactured in 1969 and was equipped with a Lycoming O-360, 180-horsepower reciprocating engine.

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. He reported 60 hours of total flight experience on his most recent application for an FAA third-class medical certificate, which was issued on March 9, 2015.

The weather conditions reported at the Columbus County Municipal Airport (CPC), Whiteville, North Carolina, which was located about 16 miles south of the accident site, included wind from 180° at 7 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, ceiling broken at 5,500 ft, temperature 18° C, dew point 10° C, and an altimeter setting of 30.03 inches of mercury.

(Source: NTSB. Image from file. Not accident airplane)

FMI: app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20171118X25754&AKey=1&RType=HTML&IType=LA