- Date
- August 7, 1987, 01:45 local (06:45 UTC)
- Place
- Georgetown, TX
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8873QCessna 206G
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report January 11, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870807043439A
- Case key
- 22266
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
Teardown of the aircraft engine revealed that the engine counterweight vibration damper assembly was out of tolerance. This allowed excessive engine vibration which resulted in failure of the camshaft drive gear and total engine failure. The pilot executed a forced landing into a wooded area. Altitude would not allow him to reach the Georgetown airport and the pilot stated that he stalled the aircraft and allowed it to settle into the trees to minimize impact speed. The aircraft was equipped with one passenger seat and two paesengers were on board the aircraft at impact. The passenger jumpseat normally in the rear of the aircraft had been removed. The second passenger was sitting in the cargo area behind the crew compartment.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8873Q
- Reported as
- Cessna 206G
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- U20603560
- Airframe hours
- 5,500
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-F, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Air Express,Inc., doing business as Express Air,Inc.
- Registered owner
- Air Express, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 7, 1987 · 75 hours before
- Departed
- AUS · Austin, TX
- Destination
- ACT · Waco, TX
- Airport
- TS01 · Georgetown, runway 36, 4,100 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 30
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,737 total · 730 in this make and model · 1,477 as pilot in command · 266 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 190° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AUS, 27 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.