- Date
- March 29, 1986, 18:42 local (23:42 UTC)
- Place
- Homestead, FL
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N777GHEasley Pitts S2-E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860329044319A
- Case key
- 31593
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
While climbing through 600 feet after departure, the flight experienced loss of engine power. While returning to the airport altitude could not be maintained and the aircraft crashed short of the runway. Post crash inspection revealed the number 4 cylinder had failed at the point the cylinder head and cylinder barrel are screwed together. Metallurgical examination revealed the failure occurred due to corrosion and diffusion of iron from the cylinder barrel over a 3 inch area at the 3rd thread. This resulted in fatigue and overstress failure. Corrosion was found to have initiated due to the presence of chlorine in the threaded area. When the cylinder was overhauled in February 1980, 214 flight hours before the failure, trichloroethlene vapor degreaser was used to clean the cylinder prior to overhaul. After use of the vapor degreaser the cylinder was not heated to remove any excess chemical from the cracks of the cylinder.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N777GH
- Reported as
- Easley Pitts S2-E
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1
- Airframe hours
- 214
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1A, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Eugene M. Henry
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 28, 1986 · 1 hours before
- Destination
- TMB · Miami, FL
- Airport
- X51 · Homestead General Avn., runway 9, 3,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 63
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 1,011 total · 97 in this make and model · 948 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TMB, 10 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.