N7746YPiper PA-30 · 1965

On October 15, 2022, about 1200 mountain standard time, a Piper PA-30, N7746Y, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Ryan Field Airport (RYN), Tucson, Arizona. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot reported that, on short final to land at RYN, the airplane yawed “hard right.” He stated that full left rudder was needed to keep the airplane straight. The pilot stated that he thought that he heard an engine surge. The airplane subsequently touched down hard and departed the right side of the runway. The pilot reported that all three landing gear collapsed and that the airplane then slid to a stop. The left wing buckled during the accident sequence. No wind gusts were reported during the approach or landing.

A postaccident examination of the wreckage was conducted. Flight control continuity was verified to all flight controls, and all flight control surfaces moved freely and as commanded when the aileron, elevator, and rudder controls were manipulated in the cockpit. Engine control continuity was verified by manipulating the throttle, mixture, and propeller controls in the cockpit and observing the associated controls move at each engine. The engine control manipulation was normal except for the constantspeed propeller control for the right engine. Excessive resistance was felt while manipulating the right engine propeller control, but the control lever was able to move throughout the full range of motion. The pilot recalled no unusual resistance in the engine controls before the accident.

An engine run was accomplished on both engines. Before attempting the engine run on the right engine, the propeller control cable was disconnected at the propeller governor control arm. The control arm on the propeller controller operated normally and without restriction after the cable was disconnected. The resistance remained when the propeller control lever was manipulated while disconnected. The cable was then reconnected to the propeller control on the engine. The source of the resistance was not identified.

Both engines started normally using onboard battery power and ran normally as engine power was increased to about 1,700 rpm. Engine power was not increased beyond 1,700 rpm due to vibration from damaged propeller blades. Each engine responded appropriately when individual magnetos were selected, and each propeller cycled normally when commanded. No anomalies were noted with either engine.

A JPI engine data monitor was recovered from the airplane. The downloaded data correlated to the accident flight. No anomalies were noted in the recovered data.