Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Del Mar, California 92014
Saturday, September 21, 2002 14:50 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane made an off airport forced landing following a loss of engine power. The pilot reported that approximately 20 minutes after takeoff, the engine stopped, and he made a forced landing in a dirt field. During the landing roll, the nose wheel fell into a culvert, which resulted in substantial damage to airframe structural members. The previous night, another pilot reported an "rpm bump" to maintenance personnel. They discovered a leak in the oil cooler return line and it was repaired. It was later determined that the rpm topped out at over 3,000 rpm, which requires engine disassembly and inspection in accordance with the applicable overhaul manual by Textron Lycoming Service Bulletin (SB) 3691. The SB defines an overspeed as an increase of no more than 10 percent of rated engine rpm for a period not exceeding 3 seconds. In Chart 11 of SB 3691, the engine overspeed described was greater than 10 percent, which requires engine disassembly and inspection in accordance with the applicable overhaul manual. The maximum rated speed on the engine was 2,970 rpm. The rod cap separated from the rod on the number 3 cylinder. Pieces of metal were throughout the interior of the engine.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power due to failure of the number three connecting rod cap. Also causal was the failure of the pilot of a previous flight to report an engine overspeed event precluding the performance of the appropriate maintenance inspection.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/21/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1450
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City DEL MAR
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92014
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 325400N
Event Location Longitude 1171600W
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 Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1556 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 70
Weather Observation Facility ID NKX
Elevation of weather observation facility 478
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 4
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.84
Density Altitude (feet) 1380
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) 15922
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Sep 21 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1620
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 29 2004 7:30AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-SAN-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6303V
NTSB Number LAX02LA292
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 172RG
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 172RG0615
Certified Max Gross Weight 2650
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Sep 10 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours 3900
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name AIR CHARTER EXPRESS, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 5133 RENAISSANCE AV, UNIT A
Aircraft Owner City SAN DIEGO
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92122
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 CRQ
Departure City CARLSBAD
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MYF
Destination City SAN DIEGO
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 17 2004 6:13PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --