19790123003309I

Incident

FAA incident report · Piper PA-32-260 · Gillette, WY · January 23, 1979

Date
January 23, 1979 · 17:00 local
Place
Gillette, WY
Phase of flight
Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Aircraft
N3546W
Reported as
Piper PA32260
Reported engine
Lycoming O540E4B5
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
800 total195 in this make and model0 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Engine became rough then stopped. A piston rod had penetrated the crankcase, oil line to cooler loose. Lost oil.

As the FAA filed it

ENGINE BECAME ROUGH THEN STOPPED. A PISTON ROD HAD PENETRATED THE CRANKCASE, OIL LINE TO COOLER LOOSE. LOST OIL.