- Date
- February 28, 1993, 17:50 local (22:50 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Meade, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N1354ZBeech N35
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 10, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930228055719A
- Case key
- 33234
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
The collision with a road sign during a forced landing. Contributing to the accident was the total loss of engine power due to fatigue failure of the crankshaft.
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 cruise flight, the engine experienced a partial loss of power. During the descent for a precautionary landing, the engine quit and the propeller stopped. The pilot performed a forced landing on a road, and during the landing roll the right wing collided with a road sign. The airplane veered to the right, collided with a fence then came to rest. Examination of the engine revealed that the crankshaft failed near the rear counterweight. Metallurgical examination revealed that it failed due to fatigue which emanated from a subsurface origin. Review of the engine logbooks revealed that the crankshaft was the original when the engine was manufactured on April 14, 1961. The engine had accumulated 4,032 hours total time, and had been overhauled two times, the latest occurring in 1986. At that time the crankshaft was magnafluxed. The engine had accumulated 1,032 hours since the latest overhaul.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1354Z
- Reported as
- Beech N35
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D-6774
- Airframe hours
- 4,032
- Engine
- Continental IO-470N, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Davis, William W.
- Registered owner
- Davis & Hatcher Co.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 8, 1992 · 62 hours before
- Departed
- APF · Naples, FL
- Destination
- DKX · Knoxville, TN
- 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
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 806 total · 480 in this make and model · 731 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 13 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LAL, 18 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.