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The pilot reported that his engine turned off and a witness heard the engine sputtering and making popping sounds before a Piper PA-32 Lance II crashed next to an interstate in Tennessee on March 4, killing the family of five on board. The NTSB investigators noted that the fuel injector lines were tested with compressed air and fuel was pushed out of cylinders 1, 3 and 5, but not 2, 4 and 6, and there were no obstructions in the engine fuel lines.RELATED STORY:Traffic camera shows fiery Piper crash along Nashville interstate that killed 5
The Piper left the Brampton-Caledon Airport in Brampton, Ontario, Canada and arrived at the Erie International Airport/Tom Ridge Field (ERI) in Erie, Pennsylvania about an hour later. The pilot added 11 gallons of fuel to each wing fuel tank at ERI and departed about 90 minutes later, flying to Mount Sterling/Montgomery County Airport (IOB) in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. At IOB, the pilot added 52.1 gallons of fuel. The plane took off from IOB to John C Tune Airport (JWN) in Nashville, Tennessee about 180 miles away for the third flight leg of the day. The preliminary ADS-B data from the FAA indicated that the plane left IOB and proceeded on a track of about 230 degrees and climbed to an en route altitude of 10,500 feet above mean sea level. There were no concerns of irregularities communicated by the pilot to air traffic control throughout the remainder of the en route portion of the flight.
The plane transitioned into the airspace surrounding Nashville International Airport (BNA) on the way to JWN and the pilot communicated with an approach controller before he was handed over to the JWN tower controller ahead of landing. After descending, the Piper leveled off at 2,500 ft msl about 2.5 miles from JWN and the flight track was roughly aligned with the runway 20 final approach course. The pilot did not land and overflew the airport at 2,500 ft on a track of 200 degrees. The JWN controller handed the pilot back to the BNA controller after he overflew the airport for unknown reasons. The BNA controller was in contact with the pilot for the remainder of the flight.
There was a faint transmission from the pilot, reporting that the engine had shut down, followed by "garbled frequency congestion that was not acknowledged by the controller." The pilot was asked by the BNA controller if he intended to land at JWN and the pilot responded, "My engine turned off, I'm at one thousand, six hundred," followed by "I'm going to be landing, I don't know where."
The plane descended through 1,200 ft msl and the controller declared an emergency and cleared the pilot to land on runway 2. The pilot indicated that he had the runway in sight but was too far away to make it. There were no more communications from the pilot.
Video showed the plane on a track of about 080 degrees as it descended over a residential neighborhood then passed over the highway and impacted the shoulder before hitting an embankment and catching fire. Multiple witnesses said they heard the plane pass overhead and before impact it sounded like the plane was having engine problems. One witness said the engine was "sputtering and making popping sounds."
The plane impacted terrain at an elevation of 440 ft about two miles south of the approach end of runway 2 at JWM. The wreckage path was on a heading of about 076 degrees magnetic with the nose of the plane on a 273 magnetic heading. The wreckage field extended about 75 ft long and the initial impact point was a six-foot-long ground scar. When the plane impacted terrain, the left fuel tank was breached and the aircraft was engulfed with flames, which largely consumed the left wing and fuselage. All major components of the plane were found near the accident site. The airframe was upright and the engine was found inverted, impact-damaged and exposed to heat but intact. The impact and thermal damage had been limited to the accessory section on the aft part of the engine.
The cockpit and cabin were destroyed by impact forces and fire and most of the flight instrumentation and gauges were destroyed in the impact and fire. The vertical speed indicator read -400 FPM and the manifold pressure/fuel flow gauge was heavily fire-damaged, indicating 15 inches of manifold pressure and zero gallons per hour fuel flow. The Piper was equipped with an electronic engine monitor, which was heavily fire-damaged, but the internal components were intact and retained for further examination. The three propeller blades were still attached to the hub and engine at the propeller flange. Two of the blades had little to no chordwise scraping and one of the blades had a slight forward bend and minor polishing. There were no leading-edge gouges and one of the blades was bent aft mid-span about 60 degrees. The propeller spinner was crushed and did not have rotational damage signatures. The propeller governor was attached to the engine at the mounting pad. The propeller governor control linkage remained attached to the control arm.
The engine crankshaft was rotated by hand through many rotations beyond 720 degrees and compression and suction were observed on all cylinders. There were no grinding or limitations to movement and crankshaft continuity was confirmed. Valve actuation was also confirmed. Oil was found throughout the engine and in the oil sump and the oil filter was free of ferrous material or debris. The oil filter screen had some unknown foreign debris but was not obstructed. A borescope was inserted through the top spark plug holes and there were no anomalies observed on the piston faces, valve faces or cylinder walls. The turbocharger was found intact and rotated smoothly when it was spun by hand. There was no damage to the compressor or bearings and no oil staining or discoloration. The unit was attached to the engine via its mount and the attached turbine manifolds/air intake. The left and right magnetos were manually operated with a drill at low rpm through high rpm and both produced blue/purple sparks at all the posts and at every rotation speed. The spark plugs showed normal coloration and electrodes compared to the Champion Aerospace AV-27 Check-A-Plug chart.
The fuel injector lines were tested with compressed air into the fuel line coming in from the fuel servo. The fuel was pushed out of cylinders Nos. 1, 3 and 5 and no fuel was pushed out of Nos. 2,4 and 6. There were no obstructions found in the engine fuel lines. The No. 5 fuel injector nozzle had a small amount of debris which did not inhibit the fuel nozzle opening and all other fuel injector nozzles were clear. The engine-driven fuel pump was operationally tested and no anomalies were reported. The fuel servo was retained for future bench testing.
The fuel selector handle, fuel selector valve/fuel strainer and fuel selector torque tube had fire damage and were deformed by impact forces and separated from the airframe. The fuel selector valve was found between the off and left main tank positions favored the left tank position. The fuel selector valve/fuel strainer was opened and revealed carbon and fire damage. The left wing had mostly been consumed by the impact and fire. The left-wing aileron bellcrank was burned away from the mounting location in the wing. The aileron control cables were still attached to the bellcrank and the aileron balance cable was overload-separated mid-cabin. The left side primary aileron cable had been cut by emergency personnel about one foot from the drive chain. The aileron cable separations that were not attributed to the recovery cuts showed overload signatures and fire damage.
The right-wing remained attached to the airframe and in an upright position. There were about five gallons of fuel in the right tank, leaking where it was connected to the fuselage. The fuel tested negative for water contamination. The flaps were in the 10-degree position and the landing gear was in the up/retracted position. The aileron moved freely in both directions to the stops during testing. The right-side primary aileron cable also had a cut made by emergency personnel. Aileron control continuity was confirmed for both wings through flight control cables to the cockpit. The empennage, which consisted of the vertical stabilizer, trim and rudder, was separated from the airframe and held into position by the control cables. The pitch trim actuator indicated a nose-down configuration. The rudder, stabilator and stabilator trim control continuity was confirmed and the plane was retained for further examination.
Traffic cameras caught the crash, showing the plane hit the ground and exploding into a post-impact fire. The five killed in the crash were Canadian citizens, including three children. The Nashville Police Department reported that the victims were 43-year-old Victor Dotsenko, flying with his 39-year-old wife Rimma Dotsenko and their three children 12-year-old David, 10-year-old Adam and seven-year-old Emma. The final report will take one to two years to complete and the docket will contain more information including aircraft maintenance reports, pilot records, witness statements, photos, video and a probable cause if one can be determined.