- Date
- January 17, 1989, 06:30 local (11:30 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Myers, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4763TPiper PA-32-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report January 22, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890117007109A
- Case key
- 32382
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Failure of the #5 connecting rod bolt. Factors related to the accident were: dark night and the soft and wet (marshy) terrain conditions in the emergency landing area.
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 pilot stated that during the initial climb after takeoff, he heard a 'pop' & the engine started running rough. He turned back toward the airport. About 2 min later, there was a loud noise, which was followed by a progressive loss of all power. Subsequently, the acft was damaged during an emergency landing at night in a marshy area about 1 to 2 mi from the airport. An exam of the engine revealed the #5 connecting rod cap bolt had failed, which resulted in further damage of the engine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4763T
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-7240088
- Airframe hours
- 5,628
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K1A5, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Flight Express, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Destination
- SPG · St Petersburg, FL
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 29
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,623 total · 24 in this make and model · 1,451 as pilot in command · 52 in the last 90 days · 24 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 10° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FMY, 2 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.