# NTSB NYC04LA065: Cessna 150F, N8745S, Suffolk, VA, February 7, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 7, 2004, 11:00 local (16:00 UTC) - Place: Suffolk, VA - Coordinates: 36.68222, -76.601669 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.6822&lon=-76.6017&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 24, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 58715 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=NYC04LA065 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/58715/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC04LA065 ## Probable cause The failure of the number four cylinder barrel due to fatigue which originated from a corrosion pit at the base of a cooling fin. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - mech failure/malf, climb - engine assembly,cylinder - fatigue (cause) - engine assembly,cylinder - failure - Forced landing, descent - emergency - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - emergency - terrain condition - crop ## Analysis As the airplane was climbing from the airport, the engine lost total power. The pilot performed a forced landing to a wooded area, where the airplane collided with trees, and subsequently descended to the ground. Examination of the engine revealed that the number four cylinder had separated at the mid-point on the barrel. Examination of the cylinder revealed that the barrel failed due to fatigue, which originated from a corrosion pit. The engine was overhauled in September 1994, which included the installation of the number four cylinder. The engine had accumulated about 800 hours of total operation since the overhaul. ## Factual narrative On February 7, 2004, at 1100 eastern standard time, a Cessna 150F, N8745S, was substantially damaged during a forced landing after a total loss of engine power while departing from the Suffolk Municipal Airport (SFQ), Suffolk, Virginia. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal local flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the pilot, the airplane was climbing from the airport, when the engine lost total power. The pilot performed a forced landing to a wooded area, where the airplane collided with trees, and subsequently descended to the ground. Examination of the engine by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the number four cylinder had separated at the mid-point on the barrel. The cylinder was removed from the engine case, and forwarded to the Safety Board's Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C. for further examination. According to the Materials Laboratory Factual Report, the barrel had a nearly circumferential fracture between the eighth and eleventh cooling fins. A large portion of the fracture was on a slant plane indicative of overstress, but approximately 90 degrees of the circumference of the fracture was on irregular planes, with some portions on a flat plane perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder. Fracture features emanated from a relatively smooth portion of the fracture surface on the exhaust side of the barrel. The smooth fracture features, with curving boundaries, emanated from an origin at the outer diameter of the barrel in the radius between the ninth and tenth cooling fins. The fracture features with curving crack arrest lines were consistent with fatigue. The fatigue features extended through approximately 90 degrees of arc around the circumference. Closer views of the fatigue origin on the engine side of the fracture revealed that the fatigue features emanated from a corrosion pit at the outer diameter. The pit was 0.0070 inch wide at the surface and was 0.0008 inch deep. The engine was overhauled in September 1994, which included the installation of the number four cylinder. The engine had accumulated about 800 hours of total operation since the overhaul. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8745S](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8745S-2006-01-27), registration cancelled 2006-01-27, S/N 15062045, built 1965 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 150F - Registry model: [Cessna 150F](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150f) (registry code 2071814) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-200 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (registry code 17020, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15062045 - Airframe hours: 8494 - Engines: Continental O-200 100 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Timothy F. Riddick - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 1, 2004, 36 hours before - Departed: SFQ, Suffolk, VA - Airport: SFQ, Suffolk Municipal Airport ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 49; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review February 24, 2003; seat: left; flight hours: 420 total, 105 in this make and model, 305 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 270° at 13 knots, gusting 18 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 54 °F, dew point 45 °F - Altimeter: 29.79 inHg - Observed at: SFQ ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20040207002079A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040207002079A), Feb 7, 2004: Cessna 150F, Suffolk, VA, Substantial damage. (-23) While in cruise, the engine began running rough. Within a few minutes, the pilot noticed oil drops developing on the windshield, and the engine quit.… ## Other investigations on N8745S (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB MIA68D0287](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA68D0287), Nov 17, 1967: Cessna 150 (N8745S), Laceys Spring, AL, substantial damage From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.