# NTSB DEN05LA143: North American SNJ-5, N212TC, Torrington, WY, September 19, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 19, 2005, 17:45 local (23:45 UTC) - Place: Torrington, WY - Coordinates: 42.074165, -104.154724 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.0742&lon=-104.1547&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report April 25, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Casper, Wyoming - NTSB case key (mKey): 62498 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN05LA143 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62498/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN05LA143 ## Probable cause failure of the #7 connecting rod, causing engine seizure. A contributing factor was the berm. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - mech failure/malf, descent - normal - engine assembly,connecting rod - failure,total (cause) - powerplant - seized - Forced landing, descent - emergency - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, emergency landing - terrain condition - dirt bank/rising embankment (contributing factor) ## Analysis The airplane was eastbound and descending from a cruising altitude of 13,500 feet for landing. The pilot said that during descent, the "cylinder number 1 failed, followed immediately by the failure of cylinder number 2, and within about 4 seconds a total seizure of the engine." The pilot made a forced landing in an alfalfa field, subsequently impacting a berm and substantially damaging the airplane. The engine was later disassembled and examined. The engine had seized and could not be turned because connecting rods 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 9 were found broken, and numbers 5 and 6 were found severely damaged. Connecting rod 8 was not broken or damaged. Metal contamination was noted in the push rod housings, oil sump, thrust cover and bearing; cam, cam rollers, cam drive gear and inspection hole; main case, and oil screen. According to the FAA inspector, there were indications that the #7 connecting rod had struck the crankcase between #6 and #7 cylinders, breaking the through bolts. ## Factual narrative On September 19, 2005, approximately 1745 mountain daylight time, a North American SNJ-5, N212TC, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during an off-airport forced landing just east of the Torrington Municipal Airport (TOR), Torrington, Wyoming. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal cross-country flight was being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot reported no injuries. The flight originated in Ogden (OGD), Utah, approximately 1500, and was en route to Scottsbluff (BFF), Nebraska. According to the Aircraft Accident Report Form 6120.1/2 submitted by the pilot, he was eastbound and descending from a cruising altitude of 13,500 feet for landing at Scottsbluff, Nebraska. During the descent, the "cylinder number 1 failed followed immediately by the failure of cylinder number 2 and within about 4 seconds a total seizure of the engine." The pilot made a forced landing in an alfalfa field approximately 2 miles east of TOR. During the landing, the airplane impacted a berm that separated the left main landing gear and wrinkled the left wing. According to a Federal Aviation Administrationn (FAA) inspector, the left wing was wrinkled, one blade on the propeller was bent, and the right main gear and wheel were destroyed. On December 24, 2005, the engine was disassembled and examined at Tulsa Aircraft Engines, Inc., Tulsa, Oklahoma, under the direction of the FAA. The engine had seized and could not be turned because connecting rods 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 9 were found broken, and numbers 5 and 6 were found severely damaged. Connecting rod 8 was not broken or damaged. Metal contamination was noted in the push rod housings, oil sump, thrust cover and bearing; cam, cam rollers, cam drive gear and inspection hole; main case, and oil screen. According to the FAA inspector's report, there were indications that the #7 connecting rod had struck the crankcase between #6 and #7 cylinders, breaking the through bolts. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N212TC](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N212TC), registered now, S/N 12141732, built 1944 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: North American SNJ-5 - Registry model: [North American SNJ-5](https://openairdocs.org/model/north-american-snj-5) (registry code 6400418) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney R1340 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-r1340-series) (registry code 52016, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 12141732 - Airframe hours: 4550.9 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney R-1340 600 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Thomas E. Campau - Registered owner: C-4 Aviation, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, May 1, 2005, 35 hours before - Departed: OGD, Ogden, UT - Destination: BFF, Scottsbluff, NE - Airport: TOR, Torrington Municipal Airport ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 58; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review August 1, 2004; seat: front; flight hours: 8,215 total, 575 in this make and model, 8,215 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 270° at 8 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 82 °F, dew point 12 °F - Altimeter: 30.12 inHg - Observed at: TOR ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20050919021299A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050919021299A), Sep 19, 2005: Namer SNJ5, Torrington, WY, Substantial damage. (-23) During the descent for landing the engine failed, this caused the engine to seize. During the emergency landing the aircraft struck a berm in the field,… ## Other investigations on N212TC (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB CEN09FA425](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN09FA425), Jul 9, 2009: North American SNJ-5 (N212TC), Simla, CO, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane while practicing aerobatic maneuvers and his subsequent failure to recover from an inadvertent spin. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.