Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hastings, Minnesota 55033
Sunday, April 7, 2002 10:15 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane sustained substantial damage during a forced landing on a road after a loss of engine power. The pilot reported he was in cruise flight at 3,000 feet when he noticed a slight surging of the engine and observed fluctuations in the manifold pressure. About 30 seconds to one minute after the surging stopped, the engine power suddenly reduced to no more than idle power and was running very rough. Then the engine lost all power. The pilot executed a forced landing to a paved road, but the airplane veered left off the road and the left wing hit a small tree. The engine inspection revealed the connecting rods for cylinders 3, 4, and 5 were all broken loose from the crankshaft, and these three crank journals showed evidence of extreme heat. The inspection revealed that the number 6 piston had a fatigue fracture across the piston crown structure in line with the piston pin. A hole was burned in the piston near the center of the crown along a fracture line, to the piston interior. The origin of this fracture was the crown surface. No number stamp or defects were observed at the fracture origin site. The inspection of the piston revealed that no material defects or surface anomalies were present at the origin of the larger fatigue crack, and that base metal composition of the piston was consistent with alloy AE109 specification. The engine manufacturer reported that it was in the process of redesigning the piston used in the 310 horsepower TSIO-550-C engines.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The engine failure due to oil starvation as a result of the fatigue fracture of the number 6 piston. Additional factors were the unsuitable terrain for landing encountered by the pilot, and the inadequate piston design by the manufacturer.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/7/2002
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1015
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Hastings
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 55033
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 444151N
Event Location Longitude 0925150W
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 11
Degrees magnetic from airport 300
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1017 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 120
Weather Observation Facility ID RGK
Elevation of weather observation facility 780
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1700
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 9
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.75
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13903
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Apr 7 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1303
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 30 2003 9:55AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-Minneapolis FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9184F
NTSB Number CHI02LA100
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-46-310P
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 46-8408068
Certified Max Gross Weight 4100
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Nov 9 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 132
Airframe Hours 5574
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Aerotech Ltd.
Aircraft Owner Street Address Cedar Lane, P. O. Box 213
Aircraft Owner City Greenville Junction
Aircraft Owner State ME
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 04442
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code STP
Departure City St. Paul
Departure State MN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 945
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code RGK
Destination City Red Wing
Destination State MN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Descent
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 16 2003 8:31AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
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 --