- Date
- August 17, 1982, 14:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Near St. Marks, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4197DHelio H-395
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 17, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820817038849A
- Case key
- 71936
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.
Loss of engine power(partial) - mech failure/malf
Engine assembly,push rod - failure,totalCause
Forced landing
Nose over
Terrain condition - wetFactor
Terrain condition - softFactor
Terrain condition - high vegetationFactor
Analysis
During flight, the engine began missing and started vibrating excessively. The pilot force landed in a swamp with sawgrass and the aircraft flipped inverted. The #3 exhaust push rod was missing and was not found, but debris from the push rod shroud tube was found inside the engine compartment.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4197D
- Reported as
- Helio H-395
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 571
- Airframe hours
- 1,304
- Engine
- Lycoming GO-480, 295 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Earle A. Cleare
- Registered owner
- Earle A. Cleare
- Departed
- Quincy, FL
- Destination
- Miami, FL
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 66
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 3,950 total · 500 in this make and model · 28 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 225° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft overcast
- Observed at
- TLH, 34 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.