# NTSB MIA01LA218: Cessna 182R, N2405E, Winder, GA, August 17, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 17, 2001, 12:00 local (16:00 UTC) - Place: Winder, GA - Coordinates: 33.976112, -83.653335 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.9761&lon=-83.6533&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious, 1 minor - Status: Completed, report August 28, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FSDO FAA, Cessna Aircraft Co. - NTSB case key (mKey): 53045 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=MIA01LA218 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/53045/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA01LA218 ## Probable cause A total loss of engine power due to fatigue failure of the number two piston immediately after takeoff, resulting in collision with trees and the terrain during an emergency descent. ## 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, takeoff - initial climb - engine assembly,piston - fatigue (cause) - engine assembly,piston - fractured (cause) - In flight collision with object, descent - emergency - object - tree(s) ## Analysis The instructional flight had just lifted off following a touch and go landing when the engine started making loud, repetitive hammering noises, and power was lost. The private pilot-rated left seat occupant transferred aircraft control to the right seated CFI. The aircraft collided with the tops of two oak trees and came to rest, nose down, against the terrain. Engine factory disassembly of the engine revealed catastrophic failure of the number two piston. Engine factory metallurgical examination revealed the cause of the failure to be fatigue fracture emanating from the root of the number two piston ring groove. ## Factual narrative On August 17, 2001, about 1200 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182R, N2405E, registered to Excel Services, Inc., dba Safety Aire Flying Association, operating as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight, crashed in the vicinity of Winder, Georgia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane received substantial damage, the private pilot-rated student received minor injuries, and the CFI-rated pilot-in-command was seriously injured. The flight was originating from Winder Barrow Airport, Winder, Georgia at the time of the accident. According to the student pilot, who was receiving instruction for a high-performance endorsement on his private pilot certificate, the flight was executing a takeoff from Winder Barrow Airport, Winder, Georgia, when the engine started making a "terrible racket", and power was lost. The CFI took control of the aircraft, and about 1/4 mile from the departure end of runway 13, the airplane collided with the tops of oak trees and crashed into a grass pasture adjacent to a farm house. According to an FAA inspector, following tree collision, the aircraft impacted the terrain nose down, causing substantial damage to the airframe. The cowling was crushed, the empennage and fuselage separated about 1 foot behind the rear hat rack, and the outer half of the left wing was crushed. The right wing sustained leading edge and aileron impact damage. The copilot's seat attach points separated from the seat rails. Examination of the propeller revealed the engine was not running at the time of terrain impact. A hole on top of the engine contained a severely misshaped, baseball sized lump of aluminum. The Teledyne Continental O-470-U engine, S/N 809788, was removed from N2405E, boxed, and shipped to the Teledyne Continental Motors factory for disassembly examination with FAA oversight. According to the TCM Engine Analysis Report, the most obvious condition found was a hole in the right and left crankcase halves above the number one and number two cylinders. The forward section of the oil sump was crushed upward, the rear section was punctured, and its contents contained about 1/2 pint of dark colored oil and pieces of aluminum debris and piston rings from the number two piston. The interior surfaces of the sump revealed a polished and scratched appearance. The oil pickup tube screen, as well as the oil filter, contained metal debris. The six cylinders were not TCM manufactured and had "EC" stamped on the heads with no part numbers stamped on the cylinder flanges. The number two cylinder dome revealed multiple strike damage, and its intake and exhaust valve push rods and push rod tubes were bent. Work order numbers 1448, 73236-06, 7-13-99 were stamped on the number two cylinder skirt. Five of the six pistons and their respective ring sets were intact and undamaged. What had been the number two piston and its rings were reduced to about two hands full of small pieces in addition to the lump found at the crash site. The TCM Engine Analysis Report is an attachment to this report. According to the TCM Metallurgy Report, binocular microscope inspection of one of the piston pieces revealed a fatigue crack fracture surface emanating from multiple origins at the root of a piston ring groove. Partial remains of machined oil squirt holes adjacent to the underlying ring groove surface indicate it could only be from the number two ring groove position. The Metallurgy Report is an attachment to this report. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2405E](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2405E-2002-01-16), registration cancelled 2002-01-16, S/N 18268201, built 1982 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 182R - Registry model: [Cessna 182R](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182r) (registry code 2072731) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18268201 - Airframe hours: 2797 - Engines: Continental O-470-U 230 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Excel Services, Inc., - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, May 15, 2001, 50 hours before - Departed: PDK, Atlanta, GA - Destination: WDR, Winder, GA - Airport: WDR, Winder-Barrow, runway 13, 5,500 × 100 ft ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Flight instructor; age 67; injuries: serious; airline transport, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review January 26, 2000; seat: right; flight hours: 6,593 total, 319 in this make and model, 5,992 as pilot in command, 104 in the last 90 days, 11 in the last 30 days, 9 in the last 24 hours - Student pilot; age 51; injuries: minor; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review December 1, 2000; seat: left; flight hours: 117 total, 1 in this make and model, 54 as pilot in command, 37 in the last 90 days, 13 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC) - Wind: 230° at 4 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 88 °F, dew point 75 °F - Altimeter: 30.17 inHg - Observed at: WDR, 1 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20010817023849A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010817023849A), Aug 17, 2001: Cessna 182R, Winder, GA, No damage. (-23) Immediately after takeoff, engine lost power. 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.