Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Brawley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Brawley, California 92227
Thursday, June 23, 2011 7:00 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was en route to perform an aerial application pass when the airplane’s engine lost partial power. He made a forced landing in a nearby pasture; however, the airplane struck a railroad track during the landing roll, and a postcrash fire ensued. Examination of the radial engine revealed that the connecting rods for the pistons in cylinders 3 and 8 had failed, resulting in significant internal engine damage and the partial loss of power. Examination of the remains of the connecting rods for both cylinders revealed wear signatures that were mostly consistent with engine operation after failure. Because the engine continued operating after the failure, most features on the connecting rods fracture surfaces were obliterated, which made it difficult to identify the initial failure. However, further examination of the inside diameter surfaces of the wrist pin bearing of the number 3 cylinder connecting rod revealed wear signatures consistent with normal engine operation. Based on this finding, it is most likely that the event was initiated by the failure of the number 3 piston rod because it was not affected by the continued operation of the engine.
The design of the engine's fuel priming system was such that cylinder number 3 was prone to piston hydraulic lock due to its low position within the priming system. Hydraulic lock is caused by excessive fuel being injected into a cylinder prior to engine start, and can be caused by either excessive priming, or a failure in the plunger or check valve assemblies, either of which could result in fuel trickling from the lowest nozzle within the system during non-operation. Postaccident fire damage precluded a thorough examination of the plunger and check valve assemblies. Hydraulic lock can result in a bent connecting rod and subsequent rod failure. The airplane was a low wing type, with integral wing fuel tanks located below the engine, and as such, it is unlikely that fuel had leaked into cylinder number 3 during non-operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The partial loss of engine power shortly after takeoff, which likely resulted from the failure of the piston connecting rod in cylinder number 3 due to hydraulic lock in that cylinder.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/23/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 700 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Brawley |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 92227 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 330113n |
| Event Location Longitude | 1153041w |
| Event Location Airport | Brawley |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | BWC |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -128 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 653 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 198 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KIPL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -54 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| 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) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 17 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 140 |
| 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) | 29.72 |
| 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) | 29985 |
| NTSB Notification Source | LAX FAA ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 12 2012 5:45PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8520V |
| NTSB Number | WPR11LA279 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 137: Agricultural |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL |
| Aircraft Model | S-2R |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 2280R |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 6900 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 11 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 21 |
| Airframe Hours | 6428 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | FARM AVIATION INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | PO BOX 1690 |
| Aircraft Owner City | BRAWLEY |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 92227-1307 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | FARM AVIATION INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | PO BOX 1690 |
| Operator City | BRAWLEY |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 92227-1307 |
| Operator Code | FAYG |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Agriculture |
| Operator Certificate Number | FAYG009K |
| 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) | Aerial Application |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | BWC |
| Departure City | Brawley |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 630 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | BWC |
| Destination City | Brawley |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 12 2012 5:45PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| 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 | -- |