# Accident 20170121002849A: Bellanca 17-30A, Kidron, OH, January 21, 2017

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 21, 2017, 14:50 local time
- Place: Kidron, OH
- Airport: Stoltzfus Airfield
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.7447° N, 81.7647° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.7447&lon=-81.7647&mi=10
- Aircraft: N39819, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N39819-2020-10-03) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bellanca 17-30A (registry code 1220433, https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-17-30a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental IO-520 series (registry code 17032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELLANCA 17-30A
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR IO 520
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 12,286 total, 512 in this make and model, 6 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN17LA081](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN17LA081) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170121002849A

## Narrative

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

APPROXIMATELY 41 MINUTES INTO THE FLIGHT THE PILOT STATED HE HEARD A LOAD BANG AND SUDDENLY EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT ENGINE TROUBLE TO INCLUDE LOSS OF POWER. HE TRIED LANDING THE AIRCRAFT AT STOLTZFUS FIELD BUT ENDED UP SHORT PUTTING IT DOWN  IN A FIELD APPROXIMATELY 500 YARDS JUST NORTH OF THE RUNWAY.  UPON LANDING THE LEFT WING STRUCK A BRUSH PILE AND SPUN THE AIRCRAFT TO THE LEFT NOSING IT INTO A ROW OF PINE TREES. THE PILOT WAS UNINJURED BUT THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE LEFT WING, NOSE GEAR, ENGINE, PROP AND FIREWALL. THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND UNDERSIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS COVERED WITH OIL AND THERE WAS NO OIL PRESENT ON THE DIPSTICK.  INITIAL INSPECTION OF THE ENGINE AFTER THE ACCIDENT DID NOT DETECT ANY SUPPORTING FACTORS AS TO WHY THE ENGINE HAD FAILED AND THE LOSS OF OIL. THE ENGINE WAS LATER REMOVED FROM THE AIRCRAFT AND REEXAMINED.  INSPECTION THIS TIME REVEALED THAT THE #5 CYLINDER CONNECTING ROD HAD BROKEN AND WAS SEPARATED FROM THE CRANKSHAFT.  BY DIRECTION OF THE NTSB, THE ENGINE WAS CRATED AND SHIPPED TO CONTINENTAL ENGINES IN MOBILE, AL. FOR FURTHER EVALUATION.

## 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 CEN17LA081](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN17LA081), Jan 21, 2017: Bellanca 17 30 (N39819), Kidron, OH, substantial damage. Probable cause: Maintenance personnel’s failure to properly secure the vacuum pump, which resulted in a loss of engine oil and the subsequent total loss of engine power due to oil starvation.

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.

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