N9375JPiper PA-28-180 · 1966

On March 3, 2023, about 1230 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee, N9375J, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Calaveras County Airport, San Andreas, California. The pilot and co-pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot stated that the airplane had recently undergone extensive maintenance. He stated that earlier in the day, he and the co-pilot departed from Lodi, California, their home airport. That flight was the first flight after maintenance, and they performed a series of maneuvers along the way. After landing in San Andreas, they took a 20-25 minute break, and intended to fly back to Lodi.

The pilot performed a preflight inspection and engine runup with no anomalies noted. He then configured the airplane for a soft-field takeoff and extended the flaps to 25°, noting “everything seemed and sounded normal.” The initial departure was also normal; however, when reaching about 300 ft agl the engine suddenly lost power. The pilot attempted to return to the runway, but the airplane could not maintain altitude. The pilot performed an off-airport landing and impacted terrain hard.

A review of the maintenance records provided revealed that the airplane’s carburetor was replaced with a new factory-remanufactured carburetor two days before to the accident.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors performed both on-scene and follow-up examinations. Control continuity was established from the cockpit to the flight control surfaces. The cockpit was largely intact with minimal damage. There was mainly crush deformation to the engine firewall. The magneto switch was set to "both." The master switch and fuel selector were reportedly both turned off after pilot and passenger extrication. The fuel quantity in the left wing was about four gallons but due to the tilt of the airplane at the accident site the exact amount could not be determined. The fuel quantity in the right wing could not be determined. A sample of fluid from the wings revealed uncontaminated blue liquid consistent in odor and coloration with that of 100LL AVGAS.

The engine was intact, though its mount showed deformation. The propeller remained attached, with one blade showing minor deformity near the tip and another bent consistent with ground impact. There was no evidence of propeller rotation upon impact, with a single half-arc mark visible where the airplane came to rest.

An external visual examination of the engine revealed no evidence of preimpact catastrophic mechanical malfunction or fire. The top spark plugs were removed; no mechanical damage was noted, and the electrodes and posts exhibited a light ash gray coloration, which corresponds to normal operation according to the Champion Aviation Check-A-Plug AV-27 Chart.

The ignition harnesses were attached from both magnetos and their respective spark plugs. The magnetos were found securely clamped at their mounting pads. The magnetos were removed and rotated by hand. Spark was produced at each lead.

The crankshaft was rotated by hand utilizing the propeller. The crankshaft was free and easy to rotate in both directions. Thumb compression was observed in proper order on all four cylinders. Normal lift action was observed at each rocker assembly. Clean, uncontaminated oil was observed at all four rocker box areas. Mechanical continuity was established throughout the rotating group, valvetrain and accessory sections during hand rotation of the crankshaft.

The fuel line from the engine-driven fuel pump to the inlet side of the carburetor was removed and revealed no signs of fuel. The carburetor float bowl drain plug was removed and revealed no fuel. It could not be determined if the fuel had evaporated after recovery. There were no anomalies found with the carburetor.

The carburetor icing probability chart from FAA Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin CE-09-35, Carburetor Icing Prevention, shows that at the temperature and dew point reported at the time of the accident, the conditions were bordering between the probability of serious icing at glide power and at cruise power.