FTW97LA146

According to the pilot, he had just leveled off at 7,500 feet on a cross-country flight to Little Rock, Arkansas, when the engine started to 'shake violently.' The pilot attempted to return to his departure point, but the engine failed totally. The pilot performed a forced landing, but the airplane impacted a wire on final approach, which subsequently delayed the gear extension, causing the airplane to land with its gear in transit. Postcrash examination of the engine revealed that the number two rod bolt head was in 'relatively undamaged condition.' An FAA Inspector assigned to the accident stated that he believed that the rod bolt was 'either over torqued or under torqued during engine assembly which led to the bolt failure and the number two rod failure well before TBO.' According to the airplane's engine logbook and the pilot's flight log book, the engine had run approximately 604 hours, since being overhauled in August of 1991.

On March 28, 1997, approximately 0909 central standard time, a Beech G33 airplane, N166B, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Bixby, Oklahoma. The commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross country flight which originated from Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma, approximately 15 minutes before the accident. No flight plan had been filed.

The pilot reported to the Investigator-In-Charge (IIC) that he had just leveled off at 7,500 feet when the engine started to "shake violently." The pilot reversed the airplane's course to fly back to the point of departure when the engine "stopped," and oil started to appear on the windshield. A forced landing was performed in an open field. The pilot report to the IIC that on short final, the airplane hit a transmission wire and he subsequently was delayed in lowering the landing gear. The airplane landed with the landing gear in transition. The passenger reported that the airplane's impact with the ground was "severe," and the "pilot did a good job bringing the airplane to a halt." The fuselage, engine mount, and fire wall were twisted; and, the airframe structure around all three landing gear was damaged.

Postcrash examination of the engine revealed a hole in the engine case. Several weeks after the accident, the engine was torn down. The FAA Inspector assigned to this accident reported to the IIC that the rod bolt head to the number two cylinder was found on the bottom of the engine case in "relatively undamaged condition." He further stated that he believed that the rod bolt was "either over torqued or under torqued during engine assembly which led to the bolt failure and the number two rod failure well before TBO." According to the airplane's engine logbook and the pilot's flight logbook, the engine had run approximately 604 hours since being overhauled in August of 1991.

The IIC had three telephone conversations with the pilot who willingly provided information. The pilot stated that he had the NTSB's Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (6120.1/2) form "right on my desk." He further stated that he would "mail it in a couple of days." The IIC never received the 6120.1/2 from the pilot.