# Accident 19980816021039A: Amrgen AA1A, Erial, NJ, August 16, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 16, 1998, 19:42 local time
- Place: Erial, NJ
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.7734° N, 75.0063° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Erial, NJ, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.7734&lon=-75.0063&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9364L, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9364L-1999-10-26) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: American AA-1A (registry code 0630710, https://openairdocs.org/model/american-aa-1a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMRGEN AA1A
- Reported engine: LYC O235*
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 735 total, 300 in this make and model, 200 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC98LA168](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98LA168) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980816021039A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ACFT CRASHED IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA. (-23) ACFT DEPARTED PNE FOR A LOCAL FLIGHT, IN THE VICINITY OF ERIAL, NJ AT 1500 FEET MSL THE ENGINE STARTED TO RUN ROUGHT AND THEN QUIT. THE AIRCRAFT MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN A FIELD AND THEN STRUCK A TELEPHONE POLE, WITH MINOR INJURIES TO THE PILOT. THE ACFT WAS DEMOLISHED. INSPECTION OF THE ENGINE AT THE SCENE DESCLOSED A CATOSTRAPIC  FAILURE OF NUMBER TWO CYLINDER AND ATTACHING PARTS WERE TAGGED AND SENT TO LYCOMING FOR ANALYSIS. WE WILL FOLLOW WITH AN EMENDED REPORT WHEN LYCOMING COMPLETES THEIR INSPECTION.    (.4) WHILE AT 1,500 FEET, THE ENGINE DEVELOPED A SLIGHT VIBRATION. THE PILOT CHECKED THE FUEL PUMP ON, THE MIXTURE RICH, AND CHANGED FUEL TANKS. THE VIBRATIONS INCREASED, AND WERE ACCOMPANIED BY SMOKE. THE PILOT HEARD AN EXPLOSIVE 'BANG' AND THE COWLING CAME UP INTO HIS LINE OF VISION. OIL COVERED THE PILOT'S SIDE OF THE WINDSCREEN, AND THE ENGINE WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ALTITUDE. THE AIRPLANE STRUCK A TELEPHONE POLE DURING THE FORCED LANDING. POST FLIGHT INSPECTION REVEALED A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE ENGINE'S NUMBER TWO CYLINDER. FACTORY EXAMINATION DETERMINED THAT THE FAILURE EMANATED FROM                                       A RUST PIT ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE CYLINDER WALL. THE CYLINDER, WHICH WAS MANUFACTURED IN JULY 1996, HAD 1,780 HOURS OF SERVICE.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB NYC98LA168](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98LA168), Aug 16, 1998: Gulfstream American AA-1A (N9364L), Erial, NJ, destroyed. Probable cause: Catastrophic failure of the number 2 engine cylinder, emanating from a corrosion pit on the outside cylinder wall. A factor was the pilot's diminished forward visibility due to oil on the windshield.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.