Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Kennebunkport, Maine 04046
Friday, August 18, 2000 15:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was in cruise flight at 9,000 feet over the ocean when a loud bang was heard from the engine compartment and the windshield was covered with oil. The pilot said that the engine produced partial power before the engine and propeller stopped. The pilot ditched the airplane in the ocean. Examination of the wreckage revealed there was an 8-inch by 5-inch hole in the top of the engine case. The camshaft was exposed and completely fractured aft of the #3 intake lobe. The #4 connecting rod was fractured about mid point. The upper half of the connecting rod was attached to the piston pin, and the piston was staked in the cylinder. The lower half of the #4 connecting rod and its corresponding bearing cap were not attached to the crankshaft, and were not recovered. The #2 and #6 connecting rods displayed heat damage, while the #4 did not. Metallurgical examination of the recovered portions of the #4 connecting rod revealed failure modes consistent with overstress, but no evidence of a primary failure mode was evident on the recovered components. Examination of the engine maintenance records revealed that the #2 cylinder was removed, repaired, and re-installed 1,020 flight hours prior to the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Fracture of the #4 connecting rod for undetermined reasons, which resulted in a loss of engine power. A factor was the forced ocean ditching.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/18/2000 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1530 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | KENNEBUNKPORT |
| Event State | MAINE |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 04046 |
| Event Date Year | 2000 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 431200N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0701400W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | -- |
| 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 | 1451 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 300 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PWM |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 74 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 20 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 5500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 19 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 14 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 13 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 504 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | 2 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 5 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 11236 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA New England Com Ctr |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 18 2000 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1600 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2002 7:11AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N411JL |
| NTSB Number | IAD00FA076 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-32R-301 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-32R-301 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32R8213047 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3600 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | Unknown |
| 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 | Jul 1 2000 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 74 |
| Airframe Hours | 3417 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | AIRWEST INC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O. BOX 174 |
| Aircraft Owner City | NEW BRAINTREE |
| Aircraft Owner State | MA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 01531 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| 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 | -- |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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 | PSM |
| Departure City | PORTSMOUTH |
| Departure State | NH |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1500 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | CYAU |
| Destination City | LIVERPOOL |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | Yes |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 5 2001 3:23PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COXP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |