Investigation number
199603195
Occurrence date
State
Tasmania
Report release date
Report status
Final
Investigation type
Occurrence Investigation
Investigation status
Completed
Occurrence category
Incident

Shortly after takeoff from runway 17, at about 200 to 300 feet above the ground, the left engine lost power. The pilot shut the engine down and feathered the propeller and returned for a safe landing on runway 28. An engineering inspection revealed that the head had completely separated from number three cylinder of the left engine. The separation occurred in such a way that the induction pipe separated from its flange which resulted in there being no power available from the other cylinders. The cylinder that failed was only 200 hours old since new. The engine had been fitted with six new cylinders, all from the same batch from the same manufacturer. Because of this the operator decided to check the five remaining cylinders. Initial compression checks revealed no abnormalities. However, a wet compression check revealed that all five cylinder heads were porous due to faulty manufacture. Details of the operator's findings were passed to CASA and as a result an airworthiness directive (CAO Part 106 AD/LYC/101) was issued requiring some other cylinders from the same manufacturer to be inspected within specified time frames.

Aircraft Details
Manufacturer
Piper Aircraft Corp
Model
PA-31-350
Registration
VH-NEF
Sector
Piston
Departure point
King Island Tas
Destination
Launceston Tas
Damage
Nil