- Date
- June 20, 1985, 12:35 local (17:35 UTC)
- Place
- Orleans, IN
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7750NPiper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850620026549A
- Case key
- 12901
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 flt, the plt noted that the eng RPM dropped from 2500 to 2000. He could not restore the RPM. He then heard a loud noise from the eng compartment & the eng seized. Subsequently, the acft was damaged during an emerg landing in a corn field. A teardown of the eng revealed that the #3 rod, pn 74502-S, was broken, bent & wedged between the #4 rod & eng case. The #3 bearing surface on the crankshaft was galled & both rod bolts on the #3 connecting rod were broken. Also, the #2 & #4 connecting rod bearings, pn 72218, had spun. Metal particals were found thru-out the eng. There was still 5-1/2 qts of oil in the eng.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7750N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-5195
- Airframe hours
- 1,123
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Patrick Albano
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 23, 1984 · 90 hours before
- Departed
- LUK · Cincinnati, OH
- Destination
- SUS · St.Louis, MO
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 38
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 297 total · 297 in this make and model · 28 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IND, 40 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.