Piper PA-31-310 Navajo

The twin engine aircraft departed Termas de Río Hondo Airport on a flight to Río Cuarto, carrying six passengers and one pilot who took part to a motorcycle GP in Termas de Río Hondo. About 45 minutes into the flight, while cruising at an altitude of 6,500 feet, the left engine failed. The pilot contacted ATC and was cleared to divert to Deán Funes Airfield. On approach, he realized he could not make it and attempted an emergency landing on the National Road 60 at km 835. After touchdown, the aircraft veered off the street, lost its nose gear and came to rest in bushes. One passenger and the pilot were injured while five other occupants escaped unhurt. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

On 29 January 2014, at about 1100 Central Daylight-savings Time, the pilot prepared a Piper PA-31 aircraft, registered VHOFF, for a private flight from Aldinga aeroplane landing area (ALA) to Kangaroo Island, South Australia. To check fuel quantities, the pilot entered the cockpit, turned on the master switch and placed the left and right fuel selectors onto the main tank (inboard) position. The gauge for each tank showed just under half full. He then placed each fuel selector onto the auxiliary (outboard) tank position, where the gauge indicated the right and left auxiliary tanks were each about a quarter full. He did not return the selectors to the main tanks. He estimated that refuelling the main tanks would allow sufficient fuel for the flight with over an hour in reserve. He exited the aircraft while it was refuelled and continued preparing for the flight. Once refuelling was completed, the pilot conducted a pre-flight inspection, and finished loading the aircraft. The pilot and passenger then boarded. The pilot was familiar with Aldinga ALA, which is a non-controlled airport. At uncontrolled airports, unless a restriction or preference is listed for a certain runway in either the Airservices en route supplement Australia (ERSA), or other relevant publications, selection of the runway is the responsibility of the pilot. Operational considerations such as wind direction, other traffic, runway surface and length, performance requirements for the aircraft on that day, and suitable emergency landing areas in the event of an aircraft malfunction are all taken into consideration. On this day, the pilot assessed the wind to be favoring runway 14, which already had an aircraft in the circuit intending to land. However, he decided to use runway 03 due to the availability of a landing area in case of an emergency. He then completed a full run-up check of the engines, propellers and magnetos prior to lining up for departure. The pilot reported that all of the pre-take-off checks were normal. Once the aircraft landing on runway 14 was clear of the runway, the pilot went through his usual memory checklist prior to take-off. He scanned and crosschecked the flight and panel instruments, power quadrant settings and trims, but did not complete his usual final check, which was to reach down with his right hand and confirm that the fuel selector levers were on the main tanks. After broadcasting on the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) he commenced the take-off. At the appropriate speed, he rotated the aircraft as it passed the intersection of the 14 and 03 runways. Almost immediately both engines began surging, there was a loss of power, the power gauges fluctuated and the aircraft yawed from side to side. Due to the surging, fluctuating gauges and aircraft yaw, the pilot found it difficult to identify what he thought was a non-performing engine. He reported there were no warning lights so he retracted the landing gear, with the intent of getting the aircraft to attain a positive rate of climb, so he could trouble shoot further at a safe altitude. When a little over 50 ft above ground level (AGL), he realized the aircraft was not performing sufficiently, so he selected a suitable landing area. He focused on maintaining a safe airspeed and landed straight ahead. The aircraft touched down and slid about another 75-100 metres before coming to rest. The impact marks of the propellers suggest the aircraft touched the ground facing north-easterly and rotated to the north-west prior to stopping. The pilot turned off the master switch and both he and the passenger exited the aircraft. After a few minutes he re-entered the cockpit and completed the shutdown. Police and fire service attended shortly after the accident.

The pilot departed Puerto Montt at 0900LT on a positioning flight to Port Raúl Marín Balmaceda to pick up five passengers. On approach, the pilot decided to complete a loss pass to evaluate the landing conditions and the wind component. Shortly later, the aircraft landed on its belly and slid for few dozen metres before coming to rest in a grassy area. The pilot was uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Following a normal landing, the pilot felt no wheel braking action on the left wheel, and the brake pedal went to the floor. The pilot attempted to maintain directional control; however, the airplane departed the right side of the runway and traveled into the grass. The landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to a stop, sustaining structural damage to the left wing spar. Postaccident examination confirmed that the left brake was inoperative and revealed a small hydraulic fluid leak at the shaft of the parking brake valve in the pressurized section of the cabin. Air likely entered the brake line at the area of the leak while the cabin was pressurized, rendering the left brake inoperative.

Following an uneventful flight from Herzliya, the pilot started the approach to Eilat Airport in excellent weather conditions. During the last segment, at a height of about 10 feet, the pilot initiated a go-around procedure following a misunderstanding about an ATC transmission that was given to another crew. The pilot mistakenly closed to fuel valve coupled to the right engine while trying to switch fuel tanks, causing the right engine to stop. Due to an asymmetric thrust, the pilot lost control of the airplane that veered to the right and crashed in a drainage ditch, coming to rest upside down. While both passengers were seriously injured, the pilot was killed.

At 1339LT, the crew was cleared for takeoff from runway 32 at Tuxtla Gutierrez-Angel Albino Corzo Airport. During initial climb, after being cleared to climb to 12,500 feet, the crew informed ATC he was returning to the airport. Shortly later, the aircraft lost height and crashed in a field, bursting into flames. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 8 occupants were killed.

The twin engine aircraft was engaged in a survey flight off the State of Rio de Janeiro and departed Jacarepaguá-Roberto Marinho Airport in the afternoon. While returning to his base, the pilot encountered problems and decided to ditch the aircraft. The airplane came to rest few hundred metres offshore. All three occupants were rescued and the aircraft sank.

According to a friend of the pilot, the pilot was taking the airplane to have an annual inspection completed. The friend assisted the pilot before departure and watched as the airplane departed. He did not notice any anomalies with the airplane during the takeoff or the climbout. According to a witness in the vicinity of the accident site, he heard the airplane coming toward him, and it was flying very low. He looked up and saw the airplane approximately 200 feet over his house and descending toward the trees. As he watched the airplane, he noticed that the right propeller was not turning, and the right engine was not running. He stated that the left engine sounded as if it was running at full power. The airplane pitched up to avoid a power line and rolled to the right, descending below the tree line. A plume of smoke and an explosion followed. Examination of the right propeller assembly revealed evidence of significant frontal impact. The blades were bent but did not have indications of rotational scoring; thus they likely were not rotating at impact. One preload plate impact mark indicated that the blades were at an approximate 23-degree angle; blades that are feathered are about 86 degrees. Due to fire and impact damage of the right engine and related system components, the reason for the loss of power could not be determined. An examination of the airframe and left engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A review of the airplane maintenance logbooks revealed that the annual inspection was 12 days overdue. According to Lycoming Service Instruction No. 1009AS, the recommended time between engine overhaul is 1,200 hours or 12 years, whichever occurs first. A review of the right engine maintenance logbook revealed that the engine had accumulated 1,435 hours since major overhaul and that neither engine had been overhauled within the preceding 12 years. Although the propeller manufacturer recommends that the propeller be feathered before the engine rpm drops below 1,000 rpm, a review of the latest revision of the pilot operating handbook (POH) revealed that the feathering procedure for engine failure did not specify this. It is likely that the pilot did not feather the right propeller before the engine reached the critical 1,000 rpm, which prevented the propeller from engaging in the feathered position