- Date
- May 25, 1991, 15:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Flamingo, FL
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N56118Piper PA-28-140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 14, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910525017469A
- Case key
- 32877
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
Partial loss of engine power due to failure of the no. 3 cylinder exhaust valve for undetermined reasons. Contributing to the accident was lack of suitable terrain during the forced landing.
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 eng RPM dropped from 2,400 to 1,900. The plt attempted to correct this but was unsuccessful. Unable to maintain altitude, he landed the acft in a field but during the landing roll, the lt wing was severed after impact with a tree. The acft rolled inverted & came to rest. Exam of the eng revealed that the no. 3 cylinder exhaust valve failed. Dur to damage to the fracture surface, no determination could be made as to the reason for the failure. Review of the eng logbooks revealed that in October 1979, the egn was overhauled which included in part, replacement of the exhaust valves. Since that time the eng had accumulated aprx 1,400 hrs.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N56118
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Airframe hours
- 3,775
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James R. Stone
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 3, 1991 · 4 hours before
- Departed
- PIE · St. Petersburg, FL
- Destination
- MTH · Marathon, FL
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 205 total · 76 in this make and model · 148 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N56118 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.