Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Pottstown Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Pottstown, Pennsylvania 19464
Saturday, March 27, 1999 21:12 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During a climb, the engine started to shake violently and lost power. A forced landing was made to a two-lane highway, and the airplane impacted an overpass support. Inspection of the wreckage revealed the number 2 cylinder had separated from the engine. Examination of the engine revealed sealant applied to the upper portion of the crankcase. The top crankcase fasteners were tested for torque, and began to turn before the specified 96-inch pounds recommended by the manufacturer. When the crankcase was split open, fretting to the parting surfaces was observed. The center main bearing exhibited signs of movement and fretting on the bearing saddle. Fretting was also found on the number 2 and 3 cylinder flanges and corresponding crankcase decks. The engine was last overhauled on July 14, 1994. The engine had accumulated a total time of 1285 hours since the overhaul. The top parting surface of the crankcase was resealed on February 7, 1997, November 20, 1998, and March 17, 1999. The last noted entry for tightening the crankcase bolts was on June 19, 1998. The number 2 and number 3 cylinder were last removed and replaced on April 2, 1997, by an overhaul facility.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The failure of maintenance personnel to properly inspect and torque the crankcase bolts.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/27/1999 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 2112 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | POTTSTOWN |
| Event State | PENNSYLVANIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 19464 |
| Event Date Year | 1999 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | POTTSTOWN MUNICIPAL |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | N47 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 180 |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2054 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PTW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 0 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 11 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 20 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 946 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 27 1999 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2200 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 12 2000 11:27AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N177AR |
| NTSB Number | NYC99LA081 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 177RG |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 177RG |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 177RG0192 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2800 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 17 1999 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 10 |
| Airframe Hours | 4009 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ANDREW REAUME |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 38 SHAWANDASSE RD. |
| Aircraft Owner City | WATERFORD |
| Aircraft Owner State | CT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 06385 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | RDG |
| Departure City | READING |
| Departure State | PA |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 2100 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 26N |
| Destination City | OCEAN CITY |
| Destination State | NJ |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |