Piper PA-34-200 accident near New Smyrna Beac, Florida, June 7, 2007
On June 7, 2007 at about 8:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-34-200, registered N15156, was substantially damaged in an accident near New Smyrna Beac, Florida. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The propeller blade separation from the propeller hub due to a fatigue fracture of the hub while in cruise flight. A factor was the embankment.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 7, 2007 · about 8:45 pm local time
- Place
- New Smyrna Beac, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-34-200 · all PA-34-200s on the register
- Registration
- N15156 · no longer on the register · serial 34-7350028
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The certified flight instructor (CFI) reported that they were about to practice an engine failure at 6,000 feet mean sea level (msl). Upon shutting off fuel with the right fuel selector valve, a propeller blade separated from the right engine, and an unknown part penetrated the windshield. The CFI reported that the right engine "came almost completely apart and off in a matter of two seconds." The right engine was canted and hanging down, and altitude could not be maintained. The CFI maintained sufficient airspeed to maintain control during the descent, but he elected to do a forced landing to a field as a result of the loss of altitude. The airplane impacted the side of a creek during the forced landing, and ended right side up in about three feet of water in a creek. The Hartzell two bladed propeller hub and other components from the propeller assembly were sent to the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) Materials Laboratory for examination. The hub from the right engine of the airplane was a left hand rotating (counterclockwise viewed from the rear) propeller. The inspection revealed that the hub was fractured around the socket for blade #1 (designated by serial number location) through both the forward and aft halves of the hub. The fracture surface contained features consistent with fatigue crack progression generally away from the grease fitting hole. The entire fatigue region measured about 3.1 inches in length from the grease fitting hole to near the forward centerline of the blade socket. On September 17, 2007, Hartzell Propeller Inc., issued an Alert Service Bulletin "HC-1SB-61-297, Propeller Hub Inspection." The bulletin stated in part: (1) There was a recent blade separation event originating in the lubrication hole located on the shoulder of the hub blade socket installed in a "left-hand" rotating propeller. (2) This Alert Service Bulletin introduces an initial and repetitive eddy current inspection of the area around the lubrication holes on "left-hand" rotating propellers on certain aircraft models.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,430 hours in all; 530 in this make and model; 220 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 1,330 as pilot in command; 1,025 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: minor injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 245 hours in all; 25 in this make and model; 80 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 150 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: February 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,605 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 4,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Lycoming LIO-360-C1E6 (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Lycoming IO-360-C1E6 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Cloud Dancer Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: DAB Daytona Beach FL at 7:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.09 inHg
- Observation at 8:39 pm from KEVB, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 1 | ||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.