Maury County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee 38474
Sunday, March 15, 1992 11:45 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

WHILE CRUISING THE ENGINE DEVELOPED A VIBRATION AND STARTED RUNNING ROUGHLY. THE PILOT REDUCED POWER AND ESTABLISHED A TRACK FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING TO A NEARBY COUNTY AIRPORT; THE AIRPLANE CRASHED ABOUT ONE MILE SHORT OF THE AIRPORT. EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE ASSEMBLY DISCLOSED THAT A PIECE OF THE CRANKCASE WAS BROKEN ABOVE NUMBER 2 CYLINDER AND THE CYLINDER WAS PARTIALLY SECURED BY ONE HOLD DOWN NUT ON THE BOTTOM LEFT SIDE. FURTHER EXAMINATION REVEALED FRETTING BETWEEN THE CYLINDER FLANGE AND THE ENGINE CASE. ALL CRANKCASE FRACTURES SHOWED SIGNS OF OVERLOAD FAILURE. THE ENGINE MAINTENANCE LOGS DISCLOSED THAT THE ENGINE'S CRANKCASE HAD BEEN REPLACED ON 10/24/90; THIS ENGINE MALFUNCTION OCCURRED 258 HOURS LATER. SUBSEQUENT TO THIS ACCIDENT, CONTINENTAL MOTORS ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN WHICH INCREASED THE TORQUE VALUE FOR THE CYLINDER HOLD DOWN NUTS, AND INSTRUCTED THAT THE STANDARD SIX POINT HOLD DOWN NUTS BE REPLACED WITH TWELVE POINT NUTS DURING OVERHAUL.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

THE MANUFACTURER'S FAILURE TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE TORQUE INFORMATION WHICH RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF TORQUE ON THE CYLINDER HOLD DOWN NUTS AND THE COMPLETE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/15/1992
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1145
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City MT. PLEASANT
Event State TENNESSEE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 38474
Event Date Year 1992
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport MAURY COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MRC
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 230
Airport Elevation 1472
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1150 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 20
Weather Observation Facility ID BNA
Elevation of weather observation facility 598
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 35
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 7
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 375
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 3
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 4
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 378
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time 0
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 46540
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 2:47PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N174OD
NTSB Number ATL92LA063
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 A36
Aircraft Series Identifier A36
Aircraft Serial Number E1796
Certified Max Gross Weight 3600
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 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jan 7 1992 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours 3273
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name SNYDER, MICHAEL C.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2001 WIGGINS STREET
Aircraft Owner City SPRINGFIELD
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 62704
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name SNYDER, MICHAEL C.
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 2001 WIGGINS STREET
Operator City SPRINGFIELD
Operator State IL
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 62704
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 HSV
Departure City HUNTSVILLE
Departure State AL
Departure Country
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code SPI
Destination City SPRINGFIELD
Destination State IL
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 5
Runway Length 5003
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --