Piper PA-31-350 incident near Enterprise, Alabama, April 30, 1982
On April 30, 1982 at about 8:50 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N53RT, suffered minor damage in an incident near Enterprise, Alabama (Enterprise Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 30, 1982 · about 8:50 pm local time
- Place
- Enterprise, Alabama · Enterprise Municipal · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N53RT · registry record · serial 31-7952197
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
SHORTLY AFTER LIFTOFF, THE PILOT FELT THE AIRCRAFT YAW LEFT AND NOTICED THAT THE LEFT ENGINE MANIFOLD PRESSURE HAD DROPPED FROM 42" HG TO 29" HG. HE ANALYSED A TURBOCHARGER FAILURE AND ELECTED TO KEEP THE ENGINE RUNNING IN THE NORMALLYASPIRATED MODE. AT APPROXIMATELY 400' THE PILOT SAW SMOKE AND FIRE COMING FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ENGINE. HE SECURED AND FEATHERED THE ENGINE AND MADE A SINGLE ENGINE LANDING. SUBSEQUENT EXAMINATION REVEALED THE RIGHT SIDE COMMON EXHAUSTPIPE FROM THE #1,3 AND 5 CYLINDERS TO THE TURBO HAD SEPARATED. THIS SEPARATION ALLOWED HOT EXHAUST GASES TO IMPINGE ON THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND BURN THROUGH THE COWL AND SEVERAL WIRES. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE DETACHED PART HAD BEEN REPLACED 1.5 HOURS PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT A WRONG REPLACEMENT PART WAS USED WHICH WAS SHORTER THAN THE REQUIRED PART. INSTALLATION WAS POSSIBLE DUE TO OVERLAPPING EXHAUST TUBE SLIP JOINTS. POOR ORGANIZATIONAND NUMBERING OF PARTS CATALOGS WAS CITED BY THE MAINTENENCE FACILITY AS CONTRIBUTING TO THE INSTALLATION ERROR.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 22,000 hours in all; 1,825 in this make and model; 89 in the last 90 days; 21,910 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,309 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,000 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J28D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Huntsville Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: 93J Enterprise AL at 3:50 pm
- Destination: 93J Enterprise AL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 5, 3,500 ft by 80 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 045° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.