Ross County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Chillicothe, Ohio 45601
Saturday, September 28, 1996 8:35 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The Pilot (plt) said that after climbing about 500' after takeoff, at 120 kts with the gear retracted, the left engine lost power. He feathered the propeller, lowered the nose to the horizon, & began a shallow left turn back to the airport. He left the flaps at 20 deg & noted a descent of 200' to 300' per min in the turn. After clearing trees, the plt extended the landing gear, banked the aircraft (acft) to the right to align it with the runway (rwy), & lowered flaps to 40 deg. After touchdown, he applied single engine reversing. Acft went off right side of rwy & into a ditch, collapsing the right main & nose gear. Exam of the engine revealed the torque sensor housing had failed, resulting in loss of drive to the fuel pump. Metallurgical exam of the housing arm of the torque sensor revealed it had failed from fatigue. On 9/14/79, a service bulletin (SB) was issued for replacement of the torque sensor housing with an improved housing. The manufacturer overhauled the engine on 12/1179, but SB was not complied with. SB indicated a history of resonant vibration causing cracks in the housing arm of original torque sensor & gear assemblies, & that the housing should be replaced, no later than during next part exposure. Investigation revealed pilot did not comply with engine failure procedures & airspeeds. Flight manual cautioned not to use 40 deg of flaps during single engine landings.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the pilot to follow the published emergency procedures after loss of power in the left engine. Factors relating to the accident were: fatigue failure of the left torque sensor and gear assembly, which resulted in the loss of engine power, failure of the manufacturer to comply with the respective service bulletin, and the pilot's improper use of the flaps and reverse (single-engine) thrust.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/28/1996
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 835
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City CHILLICOTHE
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 45601
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 ROSS COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID RZT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 726
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 815 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID RTZ
Elevation of weather observation facility 725
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 700
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 4
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 15
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 290
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Light
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 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1738
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 28 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 910
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:22AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N618BB
NTSB Number NYC96LA188
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Mitsubishi
Aircraft Model MU-2B-30
Aircraft Series Identifier MU-2B-30
Aircraft Serial Number 533
Certified Max Gross Weight 10800
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 10
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Sep 24 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 11
Airframe Hours 6644
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name AIR-HI-O CORP
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2760 S.R. 38 NE
Aircraft Owner City WASH CT HOUSE
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 43160
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 H20A
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
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 Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code RZT
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 830
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code OSU
Destination City COLUMBUS
Destination State OH
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
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 23
Runway Length 5400
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --