- Date
- June 3, 1989, 08:00 local (13:00 UTC)
- Place
- Hamilton, IN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N91KDDilley P51R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 22, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890603014269A
- Case key
- 14220
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 #3 connecting rod. A factor was the unsuitable terrain.
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 pilot reported that during cruise flight at 7,500 ft, the engine began running rough and a loss of power resulted. During a forced landing approach to a field, fire was noted coming from the top of the engine nacelle. The pilot activated the fire bottle and cut off the mixture which extinguished the fire. The airplane was landed gear-up in an open field. Post accident inspection revealed a connecting rod failure in the number 3 cylinder. The failure resulted in a failure of the intake valve allowing the fuel mixture to ignite in the intake manifold.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N91KD
- Reported as
- Dilley P51R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 87-1001
- Airframe hours
- 2,589
- Engine
- Rolls-Royce RR 621, 1,490 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- In-Flight
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- John E. Dilley
- Registered owner
- Fort Wayne Air Service, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 17, 1989 · 14 hours before
- Departed
- FWA · Fort Wayne, IN
- Destination
- FNT · Flint, 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
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 8,408 total · 1,500 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 15,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.