- Date
- September 20, 2003, 11:15 local (15:15 UTC)
- Place
- Summerville, SC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3721KGlobe GC-1B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Columbia FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030920024309A
- Case key
- 58013
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
A loss of engine power due to the failure of the engine # 6 connecting rod bearing. A factor was the collision with a gate.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to the pilot, during cruise flight the engine began to make a loud "tapping" noise and began to vibrate. As the pilot maneuvered to make an emergency landing on a dirt road, the engine made a loud "bang," lost power, and collided with a gate on rollout,. Examination of the engine revealed that the number 6 connecting rod bearing failed and the connecting rod separated from the crankshaft. Review of the engine records revealed that the engine was removed from the airplane on September 29, 1987, and reinstalled on the airplane on September 22, 1998. There were no records indicating that the engine was stored in accordance with the manufactures service information letter, SIL99-1: Engine preservation for active and stored aircraft.
Factual narrative
On September 20, 2003, at 1115 eastern daylight time, a Globe GC-1B, N3721K, registered to and operated by a private pilot, collided with the ground in the vicinity of the city of Summerville, South Carolina, while conducting an emergency landing. The personal flight was operated under the provision of Title 14 Part 91 and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of accident. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. The flight departed Summerville, South Carolina, on September 20, 2003, at 1100.
According to the pilot, during cruise flight the engine began to make a loud "tapping" noise and began to vibrate. As the pilot maneuvered to make an emergency landing the engine made a loud "bang" and loss power. The pilot conducted an emergency landing on a dirt road and the airplane collided with a gate on rollout. Examination of the airplane revealed the right main landing gear was dislodged from the fuselage, and the outboard section of the right wing was bent upward. The pilot reported no flight control malfunctions prior to the flight.
Examination of the engine revealed that the # 6 connecting rod bearing failed and the connecting rod separated from the crankshaft. Review of the engine records revealed that the engine was removed from the airplane on September 29, 1987, and reinstalled on the airplane on September 22, 1998. There was no record that showed the engine was stored in accordance with the manufactures service information letter, SIL99-1: "Engine Preservation For Active and Stored Aircraft".
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3721K
- Reported as
- Globe GC-1B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1414
- Airframe hours
- 1,499
- Engine
- Continental C-125-2, 105 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Allen Campbell
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 26, 2002 · 19 hours before
- Departed
- DYB · Summerville, SC
- Destination
- DYB · Summerville, SC
- Airport
- JZI · Charleston Executive
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 35
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 721 total · 21 in this make and model · 31 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 0 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.15 inHg
- Observed at
- CHS
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.