- Date
- September 7, 2005, 08:10 local (13:10 UTC)
- Place
- Ellisville, IL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N52551Boeing A75N1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration - Springfield FSDO
- FAA report
- 20050907026049A
- Case key
- 62601
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 loss of engine power due to the failure of the number four connecting rod. A factor to the accident was the soybean crop.
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 nosed over during a forced landing after a loss of engine power during cruise flight. The pilot reported that he heard a "real loud bang" and the airplane began "shaking with [unbalanced] engine." The pilot stated that he secured the engine, and performed a forced landing into a soybean field. The pilot reported that the soybean plants wrapped around the main landing gear, causing the airplane to nose over. A post-accident inspection of the engine revealed that the number four connecting rod had fractured.
Factual narrative
On September 7, 2005, around 0810 central daylight time, a Boeing A75N1 (Stearman), N52551, owned and operated by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it nosed over during a forced landing after a loss of engine power near Ellisville, Illinois. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The cross-country flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The flight departed Galesburg Municipal Airport (GBG), Galesburg, Illinois, at 0745 and was enroute to Litchfield Municipal Airport (3LF), near Litchfield, Illinois.
The pilot reported that during cruise flight he heard a "real loud bang" and the airplane began "shaking with [unbalanced] engine." The pilot stated that he secured the engine and performed a forced landing into a soybean field. The pilot reported that the soybean plants wrapped around the main landing gear, causing the airplane to nose over.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector performed an onsite inspection of the airplane and engine. The inspector reported that the number four connecting rod had fractured.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N52551
- Reported as
- Boeing A75N1
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 75-1707
- Airframe hours
- 2,273
- Engine
- Continental W670-6N, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 2005 · 15 hours before
- Departed
- GBG · Galesburg, IL
- Destination
- 3LF · Litchfield, IL
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
- 67
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 1, 2005
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 2,800 total · 250 in this make and model · 25 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.22 inHg
- Observed at
- MQB, 17 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.