N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Aiken, Texas 79221
Thursday, September 27, 2001 9:05 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was maneuvering the agricultural airplane to enter a field and commence spraying, when at 120 feet agl, the engine lost power. The pilot attempted to restart the engine; however, the engine did not restart. During the ensuing forced landing, the airplane contacted circular rows of cotton, before coming to rest upright. The engine was examined at the manufacturer's facility and silicon sealant was observed on the base flanges of the #1, #2, #4, and #6 cylinders and on the crankcase mating surfaces. Fretting was observed on the base flanges of the cylinders, on the mating surface of the crankcase halves, and on the main bearing bosses. The #2 main bearing was observed fragmented and the bearing's bore was cracked and damaged. Additionally, it was observed that the crankshaft was fractured between the #2 main bearing and #3 crankshaft cheek. According to a TCM metallurgist, the fatigue fracture's origin was determined to be at the aft radius of the #2 main bearing. The silicon sealant prevented proper torqueing of the bolts that mate the crankcase halves and led to vibration at the crankcase mating surfaces. The #2 main bearing then shifted and failed, resulting in a loss of engine power.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the application of silicon sealant to the crankcase mating surfaces by maintenance personnel, which resulted in improper torque on the bolts which mate the crankcase halves, vibration, and the subsequent failure of the #2 main crankshaft bearing. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/27/2001
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 905
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Aiken
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 79221
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 340724N
Event Location Longitude 1013106W
Event Location Airport N/A
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 Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1053 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 30
Weather Observation Facility ID LBB
Elevation of weather observation facility 3282
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 42
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
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) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.12
Density Altitude (feet) 4667
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12102
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Sep 27 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1804
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 26 2002 11:02AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Lubbock Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4629J
NTSB Number FTW01LA210
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model T188C
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number t18803757T
Certified Max Gross Weight 4400
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 10 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 113
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name John Wesley Addison
Aircraft Owner Street Address 910 SW 9th Street
Aircraft Owner City Seminole
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 79360
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Addison Spraying Service
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 202 South Broadway, #216
Operator City Plainview
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 79221
Operator Code ADGG
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
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) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code PVW
Departure City Aiken
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 900
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering - aerial application
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Jul 19 2002 5:01PM
User who most recently changed record SNYG
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --