Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Prestonsburg, Kentucky 41653
Saturday, November 23, 2002 16:30 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was in level flight at 3,000 feet, when the engine began to run rough. The pilot cycled the magneto switch and noted no changes in the engine performance. He then observed the oil pressure gauge in the "zero" position. The engine then lost total power, and a forced landing was performed to a field. When the engine was examined, a 2-inch hole in top of the engine crankcase was noted. The connecting rod and camshaft area of the number four cylinder has sustained extreme heating. The bottom half of the connecting rod was bent out of shape, with one of the rod end bolts remaining wedged in the rod end. The other rod end bolt was missing. No evidence of oil leakage was observed. The engine had accumulated about 2,400 hours of operation since it's last overhaul. An annual inspection of the engine was performed about 3 months prior to the accident. A 50-hour inspection, which included servicing the engine with 7 quarts of oil, was conducted 2 days prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of oil pressure for undetermined reasons, which resulted in a failure of connecting rod end bolts, due to an over temperature condition.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/23/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Prestonsburg
Event State KENTUCKY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 41653
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 373902N
Event Location Longitude 0824712W
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 1651 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 15
Weather Observation Facility ID HTS
Elevation of weather observation facility 828
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 38
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 9000
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.06
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14987
NTSB Notification Source Southern Region Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Nov 23 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2200
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 2 2004 8:06AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FSDO-01 Louisville, KY

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7192G
NTSB Number NYC03LA023
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 172K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17258892
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 24 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 72
Airframe Hours 3700
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Stanley Haddix
Aircraft Owner Street Address 8315 S KY ROUTE 321
Aircraft Owner City Hagarhill
Aircraft Owner State KY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 41222
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 3I6
Departure City Paintsville
Departure State KY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone EST
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 Cruise - normal
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Dec 29 2003 1:48PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --