ATL05LA012

Factual narrative

On October 26, 2004, at 1230 eastern daylight time, a Rogers Lancair IVP, N724HP, registered to and operated by a private owner, collided with the ground and a parked airplane during an attempted emergency landing on runway 01 at the Sylvester Airport in Sylvester, Georgia. The personal flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with a visual flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the pilot and passenger were not injured. The flight departed Darlington, South Carolina, at 1100 on October 26, 2004. According to the pilot, upon arriving at the destination airport he established a traffic pattern for a landing on runway 01. The pilot reported that he completed a before landing check which included reducing the engine power for the descent. As the pilot attempted to add engine power to adjust the descent rate, he discovered that the engine would not respond. After efforts by the pilot to restore full engine power failed, he attempted an emergency landing on the runway. After establishing a final approach to land, the pilot realized that the touch down would be short of the runway surface. The pilot reported that the airplane collided with the ground 30 yards short of the runway surface, skid onto the runway surface, and collided with an airplane parked on the ramp approximately 3000 feet from the approach end of runway 01. The pilot reported that the airplane was powered by a Walters 724 horsepower turboprop engine that was built in the Czech Republic. He also stated that the airplane contained 117 gallons of Jet A fuel. According to the pilot, the Walter M601D engine was obtained from a secondhand party in Florida, who imported the engine from Russia. The engine was previously use on a twin-engine L-410 commuter. No engine maintenance records were received. According to the pilot the engine had been installed and flown about 160 hours prior to the accident. According to Aerocomp, Inc., the Walter M601 maximum fuel consumption is 65 gallons per hour. The exact amount of fuel in the fuel system at the time of the accident was not determined. However, during the engine examination a trace of fuel was discharged from the fuel control unit when the power control lever was activated. Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed damage to the nose and main landing gear. The engine firewall was also damaged. Examination of the engine logs revealed that the engines last annual inspection was performed on September 30, 2004. The pilot logged 10 hours of time since the last inspection. During a field examination of the engine, the compressor drive rotated freely by hand and the power turbine wheel would not rotate. The housing of the power turbine wheel exhibited crush damage. No debris was located in the compressor drive and the power turbine wheel. According to the pilot the engine had been installed and flown about 160 hours prior to the accident. While on approach to land, the engine lost power and the airplane collided with the ground 30 yards short of the runway surface. The airplane skidded across the runway, and collided with a parked airplane. Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed damage to the engine firewall. During a field examination of the engine, the compressor drive rotated freely by hand, however the power turbine wheel housing sustained crush damaged and the wheel would not rotate. No debris was located in the compressor drive and the power turbine wheel. Examination of the airplane failed to disclose a mechanical malfunction or component failure. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12