- Date
- October 21, 1990, 15:26 local (19:26 UTC)
- Place
- Savannah, GA
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5506PPiper PA-24-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 12, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901021047019A
- Case key
- 8351
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
Total failure of a connecting rod cap bolt which resulted in a total loss of power.
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
While in cruise flight, at about 2000 feet, the engine quit with a bang. Oil covered the windscreen. The pilot made a forced landing into a swampy, marshy area, with the landing gear retracted. Subsequent examination of the engine by a mechanic revealed that the no. 5 & 6 connecting rods had separated. The damage was determined to be the result of a rod cap bolt failure. The engine had 1851 total hours. A top overhaul was completed about 875 hours prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5506P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-369
- Airframe hours
- 1,891
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-A1A5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Cottle, C. R. Jr.
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 8, 1990
- Departed
- RBW · Walterboro, SC
- Destination
- SFB · Sanford, FL
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
- 66
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 4,500 total · 80 in this make and model · 20 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SAV, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N5506P · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.