Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Tarboro, North Carolina 27886
Friday, September 20, 1996 12:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During cruise flight, about half of one propeller blade separated from the airplane, resulting in substantial damage. An uneventful landing was made to a nearby airport. Metallurgical examination of the propeller blade revealed that it had failed from fatigue; the fatigue originated from a single corrosion pit on the camber side of the blade. Other corrosion pits were also noted on the camber side of the remaining portion of the blade. There was no record in the airplane log that the propeller had been reconditioned since its installation. The propeller was manufactured in September 1963 and sold to Beech Aircraft Corporation in August 1964. The airplane was manufactured in December 1964 and had accumulated 1851 hours of flight time. The propeller manufacturer recommended that the propeller be reconditioned after each 1,000 hours of operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

fatigue failure of the propeller blade. Factors relating to the accident were: corrosion pit(s) on the propeller blade, and inadequate maintenance/inspection of the propeller.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/20/1996
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1200
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City TARBORO
Event State NORTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 27886
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 9
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 1150 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 260
Weather Observation Facility ID RWI
Elevation of weather observation facility 158
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 18
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 5
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) 1158
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 20 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1525
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:21AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8879M
NTSB Number ATL96LA131
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 Beech
Aircraft Model A23
Aircraft Series Identifier A23
Aircraft Serial Number M-626
Certified Max Gross Weight 2350
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 May 11 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 18
Airframe Hours 1851
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name M.W.HOLLINGSWORTH/D. L. LIKEN
Aircraft Owner Street Address 909 INDIAN TRAIL
Aircraft Owner City RALEIGH
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 27609
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name DEAN L. LIKEN
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 5305 CHAMISAL PLACE
Operator City RALEIGH
Operator State NC
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 27613
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) Business
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code W65
Departure City LAKE RIDGE
Departure State NC
Departure Country
Departure Time 1130
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MCZ
Destination City WILLIAMSTON
Destination State NC
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
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 --