Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sarasota, Florida 34243
Tuesady, April 1, 2003 18:15 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that he had performed maneuvers in the practice area and was on his way back to the Sarasota/Bradenton Airport, Sarasota, Florida, at 1,600 feet, when all of a sudden, the airplane's engine ceased operating. He said he made a forced landing and during the landing rollout the airplane collided with a curb and a sign, incurring damage to the wings. Postaccident examination of the accident airplane revealed that the Bendix magneto had become displaced from its mount. In addition, there was a discontinuity within the engine accessory section. There was the presence of oil in the area of the airframe/engine tubular mount structure, and on the lower left portion of the fuselage. The crankshaft gear bolt was loose and had a flat mark on one of the threads, the lock tab was bent and twisted, and the dowel pin had sheared. The gears within the accessory section of the engine, including the impulse coupling for the left magneto were undamaged. There was also no damage to the crankshaft gear's teeth, and the center internal bore displayed signatures consistent with there having been a side load. The NTSB Metallurgical Laboratory in Washington DC, conducted an examination of the left "Bendix" magneto, the bottom magneto clamp, the dowel pin, the crankshaft gear, the lock tab, the crankshaft, and the crankshaft bolt. The damage noted was consistent with a loss of torque on the crankshaft assembly. The dowel was found to have fatigue fractures emanating from multiple origins at the outer diameter surface, consistent with having been produced by grinding and wear/fretting. Airplane records indicate that on September 1, 1993 the engine had undergone a field overhaul, had accumulated 1450.35 hours since the overhaul. On October 30, 2002, the engine had undergone maintenance, and had both the left and right crankcase halves replaced, about 200 hours before the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A loss of engine power due to the crankshaft bolt losing torque, the gear disengaging, and the engine ceasing to operate as a result of inadequate maintenance installation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/1/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1815 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Sarasota |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 34243 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 273343N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0822343W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SRQ |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | -- |
| 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) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 110 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.3 |
| 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) | 15223 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ATL Comm. Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 1 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1845 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 30 2004 8:14AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Tampa, Florida |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4952J |
| NTSB Number | MIA03LA090 |
| 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 | -- |
| Aircraft Explosion | -- |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28R-180 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28R-30698 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2500 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Feb 18 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 55 |
| Airframe Hours | 5731 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Cirrus Aviation |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 8191 N. Tamiami Trail, Suite 107 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Sarasota |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 34243 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | SRQ |
| Departure City | Sarasota |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1725 |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| 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 | Emergency landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | Yes |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 21 2004 1:19PM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| 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 | -- |