Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Truth Or Conseq, New Mexico 87901
Sunday, June 30, 1996 14:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that while cruising at 11,500 feet MSL over 10,000 foot terrain, he 'noticed the oil pressure gauge was reading 0.' Approximately 5 minutes later, the engine 'clanked and started to break apart internally.' Subsequently, a 'few minutes' after that, the engine seized. The pilot executed a forced landing between trees on a rocky ridge top. During the landing roll, the airplane hit a rock, nosed over and came to rest in an inverted position. Postcrash examination of the engine revealed extensive internal damage. Subsequently, the parts were sent to a metallurgical laboratory for analysis. It was determined that the number one piston had developed in-service fatigue cracks and subsequently disintegrated; which in turn caused the general failure of the engine.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power due to the fatigue failure of the number one piston. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/30/1996
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City TRUTH OR CONSEQ
Event State NEW MEXICO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 87901
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1348 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 225
Weather Observation Facility ID TCS
Elevation of weather observation facility 4850
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 23
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
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) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1003
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 30 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2252
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:04AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9001G
NTSB Number FTW96LA280
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 182N
Aircraft Series Identifier 182N
Aircraft Serial Number 18260541
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 19 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 24
Airframe Hours 4180
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Yes
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BRUCE RUST
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4110 N. CAMINO CARDENAL
Aircraft Owner City TUCSON
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85718
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 TUS
Departure City TUSCON
Departure State AZ
Departure Country
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code AMA
Destination City AMARILLO
Destination State TX
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
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 --