Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Genoa City, Wisconsin 53128
Saturday, February 13, 2010 20:15 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that during cruise flight he heard a “loud metallic clicking” sound, followed by a “bang” and a vibration. A few seconds later there was another “bang” and the propeller stopped rotating. He subsequently executed a forced landing to a corn field, where the airplane sustained damage to the firewall, nose landing gear, and wings. A postaccident examination on the engine revealed that the No. 3 and No. 4 engine connecting rod bolts had failed. Metallurgical examination determined that the bolts failed as a result of overstress fractures. No evidence of a fatigue fracture was observed. The teardown examination of the engine revealed that the nuts installed on the No. 1 and No. 2 connecting rod bolts were not tightened to the engine manufacturer’s specifications. Maintenance records indicated that the engine had been overhauled and the airplane returned to service about two weeks prior to the accident. At the time of the accident, the engine had been operated about 68 hours since the overhaul. The lack of proper torque on the intact rod bolts/nuts and the overstress failure of the remaining bolts indicates that the connecting rods were not installed properly during the overhaul procedure.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A total loss of engine power due to the failure of the bolts that held in place the connecting rods to the engine's No. 3 and No. 4 cylinders as a result of the engine overhaul facility's improper installation of the bolts during a recent overhaul.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/13/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 2015 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Genoa City |
| Event State | WISCONSIN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 53128 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 423328N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0881856W |
| 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 | 2053 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 75 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ENW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 742 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 18 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 3600 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -10 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -14 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| 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) | 29.9 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 27400 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-Milwaukee FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 2 2010 3:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | bowl |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N24CV |
| NTSB Number | CEN10LA123 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 172N |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17270186 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2300 |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jan 28 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 68 |
| Airframe Hours | 3822 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | BOWEN AVIATION LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | KAUKAUNA |
| Aircraft Owner State | WI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 54130-3875 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | BOWEN AVIATION LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | KAUKAUNA |
| Operator State | WI |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 54130-3875 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | ARR |
| Departure City | Aurora |
| Departure State | IL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1945 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | GRB |
| Destination City | Green Bay |
| Destination State | WI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 22 2010 2:17PM |
| User who most recently changed record | broda |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |