Private Airstrip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lebanon, Illinois 62254
Saturday, May 19, 2012 18:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that there were no anomalies during the before-takeoff engine run-up or when he applied power for takeoff. He stated that during the initial climb, about 35 feet above the ground, the engine suddenly lost power. The pilot reported that he reduced pitch in order to maintain airspeed but that the airplane impacted the ground in a nose-low attitude. The airplane immediately nosed over at impact, coming to rest inverted. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the crankshaft had fractured at the flywheel/crankshaft interface as a result of fatigue. The fracture originated from a single initiation point on the outer crankshaft surface that coincided with circumferential wear marks indicative of fretting. The observed wear marks matched those found on the flywheel and were likely the result of relative movement between the crankshaft and flywheel. The engine had accumulated 152.9 hours since new.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The total loss of engine power due to a fatigue failure of the crankshaft, attributed to the relative movement between the crankshaft and flywheel assembly.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/19/2012
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1800
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Lebanon
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 62254
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 383637N
Event Location Longitude 0895217W
Event Location Airport Private Airstrip
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PVT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 500
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1755 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 165
Weather Observation Facility ID KBLV
Elevation of weather observation facility 459
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 30
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
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) 29.97
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KBLV 192255Z AUTO 18009KT 10SM CLR 30/15 A2997 RMK
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 30080
NTSB Notification Source Federal Aviation Administratio
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 6 2012 2:43PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3521A
NTSB Number CEN12LA309
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 QUICKSILVER
Aircraft Model Sprint II
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number A10KAS
Certified Max Gross Weight 1080
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection May 20 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 956
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Keith A. Smith
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Pierron
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 62273-0440
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Keith A. Smith
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Pierron
Operator State IL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 62273-0440
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code PVT
Departure City Lebanon
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1800
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code PVT
Destination City Lebanon
Destination State IL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 27 2012 8:36PM
User who most recently changed record foxt
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 09
Runway Length 980
Runway Width 40
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --