- Date
- December 11, 1991, 12:50 local (18:50 UTC)
- Place
- Chapin, IA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1871BLuscombe 8-F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 23, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911211055639A
- Case key
- 15366
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
Failed connecting rod which resulted in a catastrophic engine failure. A factor related to the accident was 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
An engine vibration was noticed by the pilot just prior to a total loss of power. A forced landing was made on a rural road. During the landing the airplane traveled off the side of the road, contacted a snow drift and nosed over. Post accident inspection revealed a failed connecting rod had resulted in a catastrophic engine failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1871B
- Reported as
- Luscombe 8-F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 6298
- Airframe hours
- 286
- Engine
- Continental C-90-8F, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Paul A. Sensor
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 10, 1991 · 18 hours before
- Departed
- MCW · Mason City, IA
- Destination
- HPT · Hampton, IA
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 193 total · 109 in this make and model · 142 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 14 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Observed at
- MCW, 15 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.