- Date
- October 19, 2010, 15:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Mancelona, MI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N808HCCessna 182L
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 12, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA- Grand Rapids FSDO
- FAA report
- 20101019048019A
- Case key
- 77648
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 in flight due to the failure of the engine's No. 5 piston.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that during cruise flight the airplane suddenly started shaking violently. He reduced the engine power and noticed the vibration diminished. The pilot selected a field and attempted an off-airport landing, during which the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and vertical tail. A postaccident examination of the airplane's engine revealed that the No. 5 piston was fragmented. The engine had last been overhauled 17 years prior to the accident, and had accumulated 740 hours since the overhaul.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during cruise flight the airplane suddenly started shaking violently. He reduced power and the shaking was not as bad. The pilot selected a field and attempted an off-airport landing. During the landing, the "nose wheel dug in" and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained damage to the propeller, nose landing gear, wings, and vertical tail. Examination of the airplane's engine revealed that the number 5 piston was fragmented. The engine had last been overhauled on April 23, 1993, and had accumulated 740 hours since that overhaul. The logbook entry for the piston showed that it was a Superior Air Parts piston, part number SA640518.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N808HC
- Reported as
- Cessna 182L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18259299
- Airframe hours
- 2,945
- Engine
- Cont Motor O-470 SERIES, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 22, 2009 · 38 hours before
- Departed
- GLR · Gaylord, MI
- Destination
- TVC · Traverse City, MI
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
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 22, 2010
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,476 total · 250 in this make and model · 1,335 as pilot in command · 51 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,500 ft broken
- Observed at
- GLR, 20 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 10, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.