- Date
- March 20, 1994, 13:55 local (18:55 UTC)
- Place
- Batavia, OH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1152XPiper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 18, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940320005899A
- Case key
- 38742
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 loss of engine power as the result of a fractured cylinder head.
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 stated that in cruise flight, the engine started to vibrate and the oil pressure and RPM decreased. He initiated a forced landing to a field and during the landing roll the airplane impacted trees. Examination of the engine revealed that the number 2 cylinder head had fractured. Maintenance records indicated that the engine had accumulated 262 hours since the last overhaul.
Factual narrative
On March 20, 1994, at 1355 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-180, N1152X, piloted by James F. Arnold, III, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing in Batavia, Ohio. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The flight departed Dayton Ohio, destined for Lexington, Kentucky. In his report, the pilot stated:
[I]...climbed to 4500 [feet]...[the] airplane and engine were operating normally....Suddenly ...the engine started vibrating terribly...[it] started losing RPM and oil pressure. All oil pressure was soon lost....I began looking for a suitable off airport place to land....The short field was completely circled by trees and I did not have enough distance to stop before [impacting] ...trees and brush.
Mr. Eric M. Aponte, Aviation Safety Inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration, examined the engine. In his report, Mr. Aponte stated:
This investigation revealed that the malfunction occurred when the engine cylinder head no. 2 split open (head and barrel separation) at the cylinder barrel (between no. 4 and no. 5 cooling fins), probably due to stress corrosion and or metal fatigue of the cylinder barrel wall.
Aircraft maintenance records were reviewed with no indication of previous cylinder repairs other than a complete engine overhaul....Total...time since engine overhaul [was] 261.9 hours.
End of report
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1152X
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 287505216
- Airframe hours
- 2,248
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Arnold And Sons Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 1993 · 56 hours before
- Departed
- I19 · Dayton, OH
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
- 35
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 232 total · 32 in this make and model · 165 as pilot in command · 22 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Day
- Wind
- 90° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.