Three Forks, MT, USA
N6224M
MAULE M-5-235C
On July 20, 2022, about 0815 mountain daylight time, a Maule M-5-235C, N6224M, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident in Three Forks, Montana. The commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot who holds a Federal Aviation Administration Airframe & Powerplant Mechanic certificate, the accident flight was the first flight following an engine overhaul and new avionics. He recalled that he had completed several engine ground run iterations and multiple full power, high speed test run iterations. Stemming from the test run engine data obtained by the onboard engine data monitoring system, he adjusted the idle and mixture controls. Eight engine test runs were accomplished, and the engine monitoring data identified normal operational engine parameters. Confident in the engine performance, the pilot took off and continued with engine break-in procedures. He recalled that several flight maneuvers were accomplished with consistent normal engine parameters confirmed by the flight instruments. He decided to land, established the airplane on the right downwind leg of the airport traffic pattern, and noticed that the engine rpm was winding down slowly. Troubleshooting the anomaly to no avail, he pitched for best glide, no flaps applied, and made a right 180° turn for runway 03. However, the airplane’s sink rate was too high to land on the runway. The airplane touched down about 1,000 ft short of the runway threshold, on an unplowed pasture surface and collided with a barbed wire fence. Figure 1: View of N6224M barbed wire fence impact and substantial damage
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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