Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Mims, Florida 32754
Wednesday, November 23, 2005 10:41 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During cruise flight, the pilot reported to air traffic control that the airplane's engine had ceased operating and declared an emergency. Subsequently, the pilot reported that there was "oil all over the windshield" and that he was attempting a forced landing. The airplane collided with trees in a densely wooded area. No witnesses to the accident were identified. During examination of the wreckage, oil was noted on the bottom of the fuselage, the inboard bottom skins of the left and right wings, and the tail surfaces. The #2 cylinder was found separated from the engine. Examination of the engine revealed that all 8 of the fasteners (6 studs and 2 through bolts) securing the #2 cylinder to the crankcase were separated. Fretting was noted on the mating surfaces of the cylinder base flange and the crankcase deck (flat face around the cylinder bore) and on the mating surfaces of the crankcase halves. Metallurgical examination of the 8 fasteners indicated they all separated due to fatigue cracking probably due to insufficient clamping force. Insufficient clamping force can result from improper torque application at cylinder installation or from the clamped surfaces moving closer over time. Fracture of the studs led to separation of the #2 cylinder from the crankcase and a loss of engine power. Examination of the maintenance records showed that the engine had accumulated about 839 hours since a major overhaul approximately 13 years prior to the accident. There were no entries in the records indicating removal of the #2 cylinder since the major overhaul.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power due to improper installation of the #2 cylinder by maintenance personnel, which resulted in the separation of the cylinder as a result of fatigue cracking of the cylinder to crankcase fasteners. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/23/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1041 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Mims |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 32754 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 284100N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0805200W |
| 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 | 1050 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 160 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TIX |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 34 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 11 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| 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) | 11 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 330 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| 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 | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 22323 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ATL Comm. Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 23 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 27 2007 11:30AM |
| 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 | N666DE |
| NTSB Number | MIA06FA024 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-32-300 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32-7540161 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3400 |
| 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 | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 16 |
| Airframe Hours | 2976 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Legal Air LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2855 PGA Blvd |
| Aircraft Owner City | Palm Beach Gardens |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33410 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Charles F. Rosenbaum |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Lake Worth |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| 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 | F45 |
| Departure City | West Palm Beach |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 850 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | GMU |
| Destination City | Greenville |
| Destination State | SC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 18 2007 12:46PM |
| 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 | -- |