NTSB Factual Report

On July 7, 2018, at 0920 central daylight time, a Piper PA-34, N294AB, was substantially damaged during a forced landing to wooded terrain near Jack Edwards Airport (JKA), Gulf Shores, Alabama. The private pilot and 4 passengers sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight which departed Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT), Lafayette, Louisiana and was destined for JKA. The flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91.

In a written statement, the pilot provided a detailed description of his preflight inspection, his performance of weight and balance calculations, and his loading of the airplane with golf clubs, baggage, and the passengers. The pilot visually checked for the presence of fuel, but did not measure the fuel in the tanks, and neither did he service them with additional fuel. He noted no anomalies and estimated there were 30 gallons of fuel "per side prior to departure according to the fuel gauges."

The pilot reported no anomalies with the performance and handling of the airplane in his description of the preflight, run-up, takeoff, en-route, and the approach-to-landing portions of the flight. Upon landing, the airplane began to "porpoise or oscillate" and after the 3rd or 4th bounce the pilot aborted the landing.

The pilot said he pushed the throttle, propeller, and mixture levers "full forward" and retracted the landing gear when a positive rate of climb was established. Immediately after, the left engine "appeared" to lose power and was "surging." The airplane yawed to its left, and the right engine continued to operate "normally." The pilot attempted to restore left engine power by placing the auxiliary fuel pump switch to "high" and selecting "crossfeed" on the left fuel selector.

The left engine stopped producing power, the stall horn sounded, and the controls "started to buffet." The pilot said he had "no time" to consult the checklist, considered multiple forced landing areas, and eventually chose to land straight ahead into trees. The airplane came to rest upright with substantial damage do both wings, and the fuselage.

The pilot held a private pilot's certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land, multiengine land, and instrument airplane. He was operating under 14 CFR 61.23(c)(1)(v) and (c)(3), Basic Medical rule. He reported 335 total hours of flight experience, of which 65 were in multiengine airplanes, and 33 hours were in the accident airplane make and model.

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the airplane was manufactured in 1981. Its most recent annual inspection was completed June 26, 2018 at 3,277.7 total aircraft hours.

At 1415, the weather recorded at JKA included scattered clouds at 2,100 feet and calm winds. The temperature was 28°C, and the dew point was 23°C. The altimeter setting was 30.08 inches of mercury.

The wreckage was recovered for examination at a later date.