Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Lock Haven, Pennsylvania 17745
Sunday, December 23, 2012 13:30 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot said the airplane was in cruise flight at 7,500 feet when the engine began to “surge” and then, shortly thereafter, stopped producing power. He selected a forced landing area in a clearing, but the airplane entered trees before reaching the clearing and came to rest upright in flat, heavily wooded terrain. Examination of the engine at the scene revealed that it could not be rotated by hand, and metal particles were contained in the oil filter and the finger strainer. Disassembly of the engine at the manufacturer’s facility revealed the oil sump contained debris associated with the No. 3 connecting rod, piston, and attachment hardware. The connecting rod had fractured at the crankshaft and punctured the crankcase. The fractured end of the rod was exposed in the hole and examination revealed evidence of oil starvation at the No. 3 connecting rod journals, which resulted in the rod’s separation from the crankshaft. Metallurgical examination of No. 3 bearing fragments and intact bearings harvested from the engine revealed material and construction discrepancies between the aftermarket manufacturer’s parts drawings and the bearings themselves. The connecting rods used in the accident engine were not approved for installation by the engine manufacturer; however, the bearings used with the connecting rods were properly matched to the rods installed. Because the connecting rods and, therefore, the connecting rod bearings, were not the correct parts for the engine, it is probable that the bearings failed from improper part selection and, therefore, possibly improper material selection.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The reinstallation of improper connecting rods at engine overhaul, which resulted in abnormal wear of the connecting rod bearings; while the bearings did not meet the manufacturer’s specifications, the use of the unapproved connecting rods more likely caused the bearing wear.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/23/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1330 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Lock Haven |
| Event State | PENNSYLVANIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 17745 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 413000N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0773435W |
| Event Location Airport | N/A |
| 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 | 1354 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 135 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | IPT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 528 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 25 |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 4 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 270 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.85 |
| 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) | 33129 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 12 2014 3:56PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2074T |
| NTSB Number | ERA13LA097 |
| 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-28R-200 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28R-7135018 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2650 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 2 |
| 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 | Jul 16 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 3314 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | AERO TOO INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | NEWARK |
| Aircraft Owner State | DE |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 19711-2526 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | AERO TOO INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | NEWARK |
| Operator State | DE |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 19711-2526 |
| 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 | UCP |
| Departure City | New Castle |
| Departure State | PA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1310 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 20N |
| Destination City | Kingston |
| Destination State | NY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 12 2014 3:56PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| 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 | -- |