Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Palwaukee Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Buffalo Grove, Illinois 60089
Thursday, October 28, 2004 19:09 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a complete loss of engine power during initial climb after takeoff. The pilot reported that approximately 10 minutes after takeoff, when the flight was about 3,000 feet mean sea level, he heard a "loud bang followed by extreme vibrations of the aircraft." The pilot executed a forced landing on a four-lane highway about 4 miles north of the departure airport. He noted, "While flaring to land a car turned in front of me. I avoided the car, however, the left wing started clipping trees." The airplane came to rest on the highway median. A post-accident inspection of the engine determined that the crankshaft had failed aft of the number 2 main bearing journal. Metallurgical examination of the crankshaft fracture surface revealed crack arrest marking (beach marks) indicative of fatigue cracking. Fatigue initiation was at the surface of the main bearing journal slightly forward of the aft radius. The adjacent journal surface was roughened and discolored with multiple longitudinally oriented parallel cracks (ladder cracks) in the surface. Magnified examination found that the fatigue fracture originated at one of the ladder cracks and grew aft through about 75 percent of the crank cheek before the crankshaft failed. The other journals showed some circumferential scratches and light wear. However, none showed the high level of surface damage exhibited by the fractured main journal. According to the maintenance logbook, the engine had accumulated 3,109.8 hours total time and 876.8 hours since overhaul.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Fatigue fracture of the engine crankshaft during initial climb after takeoff resulting in a complete loss of engine power. Contributing factors were the trees and the highway.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/28/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1909 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Buffalo Grove |
| Event State | ILLINOIS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 60089 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 421006N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0875604W |
| Event Location Airport | Palwaukee Muni |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | PWK |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 4 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 339 |
| Airport Elevation | 647 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1911 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 159 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PWK |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 647 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 4 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1900 |
| 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) | 5 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 16 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 160 |
| 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) | 29.99 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 18773 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 28 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1925 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 20 2005 6:27AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA-DuPage FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6764P |
| NTSB Number | CHI05LA019 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-24 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 24-1894 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2550 |
| 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 | Apr 14 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 244 |
| Airframe Hours | 4495 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Bernard J. Hogan Jr. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 10647 Driver Dr. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Evansville |
| Aircraft Owner State | IN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 47725 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| 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 | PWK |
| Departure City | Wheeling |
| Departure State | IL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1850 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | EVV |
| Destination City | Evansville |
| Destination State | IN |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 15 2005 10:18AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| 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 | -- |