20170804015759I

AIRMAN ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ IS A PRIVATE PILOT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WHO OWNS N5191L A PIPER PA-28-180 AIRCRAFT. ON FRIDAY AUGUST 4, 2017 AT APPROXIMATELY 1500 LOCAL TIME ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ DEPARTED COLUMBIA, MS AIRPORT (0R0). HE CONDUCTED THREE LEFT HANDED TRAFFIC PATTERN TOUCH AND GO CYCLES THEN DEPARTED THE AREA TEN TO TWELVE NAUTICAL MILES TOWARDS THE SOUTH WEST OF 0R0 TO PRACTICE MANEUVERS.

^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ CLIMBED TO 3,000 FEET MSL AND CONFIGURED THE AIRCRAFT FOR MINIMUM CONTROLLABLE AIRSPEED, (MCA) PRACTICE. DURING THE MANEUVER ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ BEGAN TO HEAR THE ENGINE ?LOUDLY TICKING,? AT WHICH TIME HE RECOVERED FROM THE MANEUVER AND APPLIED THROTTLE TO A ?CRUISE SETTING? AND HEADED BACK TO THE COLUMBIA 0R0 AIRPORT. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ SAID THAT WHILE THE TICKING NOISE GREW IN SEVERITY AND INTENSITY HE SCANNED HIS INSTRUMENTS AND NOTICED THE OIL PRESSURE GAUGE WAS FLUCTUATING FROM 60 TO 0 PSI, HIS OIL TEMPERATURE WAS IN THE ?GREEN NORMAL RANGE,? BUT HIS PRM GAUGE WAS ONLY INDICATING 2100, INSTEAD OF 2600 WITH THE THROTTLE FULL FORWARD.

^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ SAID APPROXIMATELY TWO, BUT NO MORE THAN 3 MINUTES AFTER HE HEARD THE TICKING SOUND START THE ENGINE ?MADE A HUGE BANG SOUND, FOLLOWED BY A PUFF OF SMOKE, THEN THE PROPELLER LOCKED UP WHICH CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO LURCH TO THE SIDE.? ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ THEN CONFIGURED FOR BEST GLIDE, TUNED 121.5 ON HIS RADIO AND DECLARED AN EMERGENCY ON THE ?GUARD? FREQUENCY. HE SAID ?SOMEONE RESPONDED ON GUARD AND ASKED ME MY POSITION, SOLES ON BOARD, AND SITUATION. I TOLD THEM WHERE I WAS, THAT IT WAS ONLY ME ON BOARD, AND THAT MY ENGINE HAD LOCKED UP AND THAT I WAS NOT GOING TO MAKE IT TO THE AIRPORT AND THAT I WAS GOING TO TRY TO LAND ON A ROAD RUNNING PARALLEL ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE AIRPORT.?

^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ THEN LINED UP WITH MISSISSIPPI HIGHWAY 35 HEADED NORTH. HE SAID HE LANDED BETWEEN TWO VEHICLES; BEHIND AN EIGHTEEN WHEELER IN FRONT OF HIM AND IN FRONT OF A WHITE TOYOTA SEDAN BEHIND HIM. HE COASTED AND MADE A RIGHT TURN INTO THE PARKING LOT OF A SOUTHERN TIRE MART STORE AT THE CORNER OF HIGHWAY 35 AND INDUSTRIAL PARK ROAD. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ DID NOT IMPACT ANY OBJECTS OR VEHICLES ON THE GROUND DURING HIS FORCED LANDING AND ROLL OUT.

^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ TRIED TO CONTACT GUARD AGAIN TO TELL THEM HE WAS DOWN AND SAFE BUT COULD NOT ESTABLISH RADIO CONTACT WITH ANYONE. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ THEN CALLED HIS CFI AND ASKED WHO HE NEEDED TO CONTACT TO REPORT HE WAS SAFE. HIS CFI TOLD HIM TO CALL WX BRIEF AND TELL THE BRIEFER HE WAS DOWN AND SAFE, WHICH HE DID. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ CFI THEN CALLED 911 TO TELL INFORM THEM WHERE ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ HAD LANDED. POLICE SHOWED UP WITHIN FIFTEEN MINUTES OF ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ FORCED LANDING AND TOOK A STATEMENT FROM HIM.

^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ THEN CONTACTED THE REGIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER, (ROC) AND WAS PLACED ON A CONFERENCE CALL WITH THE ROC REPRESENTATIVE AND INSPECTOR PATRICK PENSON. INSPECTOR PENSON GAVE PERMISSION TO ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ TO MOVE THE AIRCRAFT ONLY AFTER LAW ENFORCEMENT HAD SECURED PICTURES OF THE AIRCRAFT. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WITH THE HELP OF THE COLUMBIA MISSISSIPPI POLICE DEPARTMENT TOWED THE AIRCRAFT BACK TO THE 0R0 AIRPORT AND SECURED IT IN HIS HANGER UNTIL THE FAA COULD ARRIVE TO INSPECT IT. THE AIRCRAFT RECEIVED NO DAMAGE DURING THE MOVE TO THE AIRPORT.

FAA INSPECTORS PATRICK PENSON (OPS), MICHAEL JONES (MX), AND SCOTT LYNN (FAASTEAM) ARRIVED ON AUGUST 8TH AT 1000 LOCAL TIME TO INSPECT THE AIRCRAFT. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ OPENED HIS HANGER AND INSPECTORS JONES AND LYNN INSPECTED THE AIRCRAFT AND ITS RECORDS WHILE INSPECTOR PENSON INTERVIEWED ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AND HIS DOCUMENTS. IT WAS FOUND THAT N5191L SUFFERED CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE/SEIZURE WHILE IN FLIGHT. ON TOP OF THE CASE AT THE NUMBER 4 CYLINDER SHOWED A LARGE HOLE WHERE THE CONNECTING ROD DAMAGED THE CASE AFTER BECOMING DISCONNECTED FROM THE CRANK SHAFT. THIS LED TO THE JAMMING OF THE CRANK SHAFT AGAINST THE NUMBER 4 CONNECTING ROD.