- Date
- February 28, 1988, 10:33 local (15:33 UTC)
- Place
- Middletown, RI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N3774XGrosvenor Quickie
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 20, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 35984
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 worn propeller transmission (reduction gear assembly), which failed to transmit power to the propeller at a critical point in the go-around.
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 of the homebuilt aircraft initiated a go-around because of traffic on the runway in front of him. He stated that he 'pushed the throttle forward to go-around. My engine went into a high rev and the power was not transmitted to the propeller.' The pilot proceeded with the landing, but the aircraft was in a nose high attitude from the attempted go-around. The airspeed decreased, the aircraft developed a high sink rate and touched down hard on the runway. An investigation determined that the propeller transmission (reduction drive assembly) failed due to excessive wear of the clutch mechanism. The transmission had accumulated 169 hours in service since it was installed on the aircraft. The manufacturer recommended overhaul at 1000 hours total time.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3774X
- Reported as
- Grosvenor Quickie
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- QA-213
- Airframe hours
- 390
- Engine
- Kawasaki TB-340A, 32 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richard Grosvenor
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 17, 1988 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- 2B4
- Destination
- 2B4
- Airport
- 2B4 · Newport State, runway 4, 3,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 60
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 692 total · 390 in this make and model · 5 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 5 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 25 °F, dew point -0 °F