- Date
- September 1, 1990, 16:37 local (20:37 UTC)
- Place
- Opa-Locka, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N70659Piper J3C-65
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 2, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900901037879A
- Case key
- 32699
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
Engine failure due to lack of oil supply to the number 3 cylinder connecting rod for undetermined reasons. This allowed the connecting rod end cap to separate through the case resulting in oil exhaustion.
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
During normal cruise flt, the plt reported that the RPM was decreasing & the oil temperature was increasing. The eng then seized. With poor fwd visibility due to oil covering the windscreen, he overshot the field he was attempting to land in. The acft collided with a fence then nosed over. Exam of the eng revealed that the number 3 cylinder connecting rod end cap separated, existed the case & came to rest in the oil sump. Lycoming eng personnel stated that the separation of the rod cap was due to a lack of lubrication which caused the rod bolts to stretch, losing their torque, & one of the two nuts vibrated off. The other rod bolt failed due to overload. The eng received a top overhaul 136 hrs earlier & a major overhaul was performed 2,122 hrs earlier. No determination could be made as to the reason for the lack of lubrication.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N70659
- Reported as
- Piper J3C-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17679
- Airframe hours
- 20,378
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235C, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Aerial Sign Company, Inc.
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 20, 1990 · 32 hours before
- Departed
- HWO · Hollywood, FL
- Airport
- X46 · Opa Locka West
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
- 44
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 727 total · 285 in this make and model · 619 as pilot in command · 243 in the last 90 days · 74 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- OPF, 4 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.