- Date
- March 21, 1987, 12:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- Darien, GA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2948RPiper PA-28R-200
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report May 9, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870321007089A
- Case key
- 7390
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
During normal cruise flight at 6,000' the plt reported hearing a loud bang simultaneous with a total loss of power. The plt declared mayday and made a forced landing in small pine trees. Examination of the engine revealed cyl.#2 connecting rod had become disconnected from the crank shaft and subsequently punctured the crankcase. Examination of the connecting rod bolts indicated one bolt failed due to tensile overstress. The bolts had been replaced at overhaul, 1,460 hours prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2948R
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28R-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R35342
- Airframe hours
- 4,157
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Michael Robert Katz
- Registered owner
- Micheal R. Katz
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 19, 1987 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- CHS · Charleston, SC
- Destination
- COI · Merritt Island, FL
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 32
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,906 total · 684 in this make and model · 1,679 as pilot in command · 41 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- 290° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.