Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

New Milford, Connecticut 06776
Tuesady, July 31, 2001 15:50 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was in level flight, about 3,000 feet, with the engine operating at 2,350 rpm. It began to sound louder than normal to the student pilot, then the oil pressure dropped, and smoke began to emanate from the engine. The student pilot reduced engine power to idle and attempted to land the airplane in a field, but overshot it and struck trees. Post-flight examination of the engine revealed seven quarts of oil showing on the oil dipstick, and no broken or loose oil lines or filter. The engine had a hole in the crankcase in the vicinity of the #2 cylinder. An engine teardown revealed that the #2 connecting rod had separated from the crankshaft and had outwardly bent the cylinder skirt. The connecting rod that contacted the crankshaft journal exhibited lateral scaring, heat signature, and peening. The piston, by means of the connecting rod, was moved the length of the cylinder barrel and the stroke was limited by the destruction of the cylinder skirt. The number two crankshaft journal displayed the same characteristics as the end of the connecting rod. The #1 cylinder connecting rod was separated from the piston, and bent approximately 10 degrees at the base of the pin hole with the piston pin still in place. The top pf the connecting rod displayed peen marks, as did the bottom interior of the piston. The piston could not be moved from the top of the cylinder. The connecting rod was loose on the journal with one hold-down nut missing. The opposite hold down bolt and nut were tight. The connecting rod exhibited rotational scratching, with no heat signature. Three of four connecting rod hold down nuts were recovered. The lipped surfaces of two of the nuts displayed no rotational scratch marks associate with contacting other metal surfaces; the third nut had such rotational scarring. The engine had 6,036 hours of operation and 456 hours since overhaul.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Separation of the number two connecting rod for reasons undetermined.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/31/2001
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1550
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City New Milford
Event State CONNECTICUT
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 06776
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 7
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 1555 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 120
Weather Observation Facility ID OXC
Elevation of weather observation facility 727
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 20
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.27
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11884
NTSB Notification Source FAA NEROC
NTSB Notification Date Jul 31 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1755
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 18 2002 10:15AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Windsor Locks

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N55205
NTSB Number NYC01LA194
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-180
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-7305331
Certified Max Gross Weight 2450
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection May 5 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 68
Airframe Hours 6036
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Quade's Flight School
Aircraft Owner Street Address 97 Hangar Road
Aircraft Owner City Montgomery
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 12549
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 None
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code OXC
Departure City Oxford
Departure State CT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MGJ
Destination City Montgomery
Destination State NY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 30 2002 11:01AM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
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 --