Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sunbury, Pennsylvania 17801
Saturday, October 5, 1996 13:15 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that the engine lost power while climbing through 2200 msl. He stated that his attempts to restart the engine, using the emergency procedures, were unsuccessful. During a forced landing in a field, the airplane struck a rock and nosed over. The airplane was examined after the accident by an FAA inspector. The examination revealed that the four bolts that held the crankshaft cluster gear to the crankshaft had failed. The accessory gear box cover was removed and the cluster gear rotated freely. Examination of the four bolts revealed that one of the bolts failed due to fatigue in the threaded area. (Due to smearing, failure mode of the the other 3 bolts was not determined). The engine had over 356 hours since overhaul. The pilot stated that he was unsure why the prior owner had the engine overhauled.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the cluster gear attaching bolts (of which one failed from fatigue), resulting in a disconnect of the gear and loss of engine power. An obstruction (rock) in the emergency landing area was a related factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/5/1996
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1315
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City SUNBURY
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 17801
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 10
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 Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1247 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID UNV
Elevation of weather observation facility 1239
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 50
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
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) 20
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
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) 1992
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 5 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1700
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:24AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6741S
NTSB Number IAD97LA002
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 150H
Aircraft Series Identifier 150H
Aircraft Serial Number 150-67541
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 7 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 85
Airframe Hours 2450
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JOHN BAKOWICZ
Aircraft Owner Street Address RR 2, BOX 348-E
Aircraft Owner City SUNBURY
Aircraft Owner State PA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 17801
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 SEG
Departure City SELINSGROVE
Departure State PA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1250
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code N79
Destination City SHAMOKIN
Destination State PA
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 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --