Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Harrisburg, Nebraska 69345
Thursday, August 10, 2006 8:30 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
While in cruise flight at an altitude of approximately 8,500 feet, the pilot heard a "loud bang," and the engine oil pressure decreased. Shortly thereafter, engine oil was noted on the windscreen, and the engine lost power. Subsequently, the pilot initiated a forced landing to a field. During the forced landing, the airplane impacted terrain and the nose and right main landing gears collapsed. Examination of the airplane revealed the right wing was buckled. A review of the maintenance records revealed that most recent annual inspection was completed on November 11, 2005, at a total airframe time of 3,358 hours. The engine had accumulated 257 hours since major overhaul and 49 hours since the annual inspection. No additional maintenance besides an oil change was performed on the engine since the November 11th inspection. Examination and disassembly of the engine revealed that connecting rods had been fractured and separated. The pistons were found separated from the connecting rods. The six pistons displayed cracks and fractures along the piston pin bosses, and mechanical damage was noted on the bottom side of the piston. The pistons were retained for further examination by the NTSB materials laboratory. The connecting rod and main bearings displayed evidence of discoloration and heat signatures. The crankshaft counterweights were separated from the crankshaft. Metallurgical examination of two pistons revealed that fractures along the boss for the piston pin were consistent with overstress separation in a casting.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power resulting from mechanical failure of a connecting rod for undetermined reasons. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/10/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 830 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Harrisburg |
| Event State | NEBRASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 69345 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 413316N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1034425W |
| 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 | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 30 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| 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) | 21585 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-Northwest Mountain Region |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 10 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 27 2007 1:15PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Lincoln, Nebraska |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8741P |
| NTSB Number | DEN06LA112 |
| 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 | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-24-260 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 24-4192 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3200 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 49 |
| Airframe Hours | 3358 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Thomas M. Jones |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1902 Oxford Ct. E |
| Aircraft Owner City | Garden City |
| Aircraft Owner State | KS |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 67846 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| 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 | GCK |
| Departure City | Garden City |
| Departure State | KS |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 700 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | BIL |
| Destination City | BILLINGS |
| Destination State | MT |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise - normal |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 23 2007 9:19AM |
| User who most recently changed record | BOWL |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |