- Date
- March 17, 1987, 14:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- Rio Vista, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N97115Stinson 108-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 8, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870317006289A
- Case key
- 25542
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
The aircraft nosed over in soft soil after a forced landing. The aircraft's engine failed during the departure climb and the pilot was unable to restart it. The pilot accomplished a forced landing to a field. The aircraft nosed over when the nose gear became bogged in soft soil. The powerplant was disassembled and examined. During the disassembly the crankshaft was discovered to be fractured between the number one and two cylinder journals. Examination of the aircraft airframe and engine logbooks revealed that the crankshaft was installed on March 28, 1984 when the engine was overhauled. The aircraft had accumulated a total of 54 flight hours since the engine overhaul. It could not be determined if the crankshaft was new or reconditioned at the time of installation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N97115
- Reported as
- Stinson 108-1
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 108-1115
- Airframe hours
- 2,347
- Engine
- Franklin 6A4-150, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert V. Williams
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 2, 1986 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- 088 · Rio Vista, CA
- Destination
- LVK · Livermore, CA
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
- 64
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 535 total · 200 in this make and model · 400 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 22,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SUU, 14 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.
Other investigations on N97115 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.