Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Daytona Beach, Florida 32124
Monday, May 10, 2004 12:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The mechanic stated that he and the pilot were conducting a maintenance test flight, when the incident occurred. He further stated that after takeoff, and during climb to cruise, at an altitude of 1,000 feet AGL, as the pilot reduced power from 2,700 rpm to 2,500 rpm, all of a sudden there was a loud bang, and the airplane started to shudder and shake violently. He stated that the pilot reduced power, and returned for an otherwise uneventful landing. Examination of the airplane revealed that one blade of the three-bladed McCauley propeller appeared to be in negative pitch, and when moved, it revolved freely in the hub. Further examination revealed that the pitch change actuating pin for the No. 3 propeller blade had separated, with a threaded portion of the pin still remaining in the hub. On May 10, 2004, the incident McCauley propeller blade, and associated propeller parts, were examined at the NTSB Metallurgical Laboratory, Washington DC. The examination revealed that for the affected blade, the ferrule hole into which the fractured pitch change actuator pin had been inserted, had threads that did not extend into the hole as specified by the propeller manufacturer. The threads extended about one half the distance from the bottom of the hole, and fatigue cracking was found to be in the threads of the pin, and the fatigue crack had progressed about 95 percent of the way through the pin before it separated due to overstress. Records indicated that the propeller had last been overhauled on January 30, 1997,by a maintenance facility in Johnson City, New York, about 678 flight hours prior to the incident..

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Improper maintenance/installation by the propeller overhaul/repair facility, which resulted in stress related fatigue and the eventual separation of the propeller pitch change pin.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 5/10/2004
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1230
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Daytona Beach
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32124
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 290441N
Event Location Longitude 0810240W
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
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID DAB
Elevation of weather observation facility 34
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 90
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 17
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.22
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) 17787
NTSB Notification Source FAA Orlando FSDO
NTSB Notification Date May 11 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1210
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 8 2005 12:51PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Orlando, Florida

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3670S
NTSB Number MIA04IA088
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model A36
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number E1702
Certified Max Gross Weight 3780
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 66
Airframe Hours 2595
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Flying B Enterprises LTD
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3511 Silverside Road
Aircraft Owner City Wilmington
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19810
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) Flight Test
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 7FL6
Departure City Daytona Beach
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1227
Departure Time Zone EDT
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 Climb - to cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Sep 14 2004 1:41PM
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 --