- Date
- July 2, 2004, 17:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- Algona, IA
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3248TBeech A36
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 31, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA, Raytheon, Teledyne Continental Motors
- FAA report
- 20040702013429A
- Case key
- 59653
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
The failure of the connecting rod which resulted in the loss of engine power during cruise flight and subsequent forced landing. A contributing factor was the delayed lowering of the landing gear in order to clear the other vehicle encountered during the forced landing.
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
The airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing on a road. The pilot reported that while in level flight the engine "blew up." He executed a forced landing on a road and elected to delay lowering of the landing gear until the airplane had cleared a car that was traveling in the opposite direction. Once clear of the car, the pilot lowered the landing gear, but it did not fully extend due to the low altitude. Examination of the engine revealed a hole in the crankcase adjacent to the number 6 connecting rod journal. Additionally, the number 6 connecting rod and piston were found fractured. No determination could be made regarding the failure of the connecting rod.
Factual narrative
On July 2, 2004, about 1715 central daylight time, a Beech model A36, N3248T, piloted by a commercial pilot, was substantially damaged as a result of a forced landing following a loss of engine power and subsequent in-flight fire. The 14 CFR Part 91 business flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. No injuries were reported. The flight originated from the Mason City Municipal Airport, Mason City, Iowa, at 1630, and was bound for the Joe Foss Field Airport, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The pilot reported that about 15 minutes into the flight, while level at 4,500 feet mean sea level, the airplane engine "blew up." The pilot stated that he executed a forced landing on a road. He stated that he kept the landing gear retracted to insure that he could clear a car that was traveling in the opposite direction. The pilot stated that once clear of the car he lowered the landing gear, but due to the low altitude, the landing gear did not fully extend before contact with the road occurred.
Examination of the engine revealed a hole in the top of the crankcase near the number 5 and 6 cylinders. The hole in the crankcase was aligned with the number 6 connecting rod journal. All of the engine accessories remained intact and attached to the engine.
Fractured pieces of the number 6 connecting rod, piston and piston pin were found within the crankcase. The fractured piston exhibited signatures consistent with overload failure. The fracture surfaces of the connecting rod were smeared and no determination could be made concerning the fracture surfaces.
The number 5 piston was lodged within its cylinder. The connecting rod remained attached to the piston. The connecting rod cap was separated from the connecting rod. The fracture surfaces were smeared and no determination could be made concerning the fracture surfaces.
Examination of the main bearings and the connecting rod bearings of the undamaged connecting rods revealed no evidence of oil starvation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3248T
- Reported as
- Beech A36
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- E-2948
- Airframe hours
- 2,334
- Engine
- Continental IO-550B6F, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- In-Flight
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Broin Enterprise, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 2004 · 274 hours before
- Departed
- MCW · Mason City, IA
- Destination
- FSD · Sioux Falls, SD
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
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 1, 2004
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,933 total · 5,868 in this make and model · 6,834 as pilot in command · 194 in the last 90 days · 67 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.92 inHg
- Observed at
- KAXA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.