- Date
- October 11, 1994, 18:35 local (22:35 UTC)
- Place
- Rochester, NY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N5494JCessna 310R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 4, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 38869
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
Probable cause
Inadequate maintenance which resulted in undertorqued bolts, fatigue cracking of the hub, and the separation of the propeller assembly from the engine.
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 heard a loud 'bang' after he applied full power to begin the takeoff roll. He then noticed that the right propeller had separated from the engine. Metallurgical examination of the propeller hub revealed that the hub separated as a result of fatigue cracking that initiated from the holes for the studs used to attach the hub to the crankshaft flange. A substantial amount of fretting was noted on the mounting face of the hub, indicating possible looseness between the hub and crankshaft. This is likely due to inadequate preload on the stub as a result of inadequate assembly torque on the nuts.
Factual narrative
On October 11, 1994, at 1835 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 310R, N5494J, operated by Northland Aviation Inc., and piloted by Raymond Jacqus, aborted the takeoff at the Rochester Airport, Rochester, New York. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an IFR flight plan had been filed for the flight operating under 14 CFR 135.
The pilot heard a loud "bang" after he applied full power to begin the takeoff roll. He then noticed that the right propeller had separated from the engine.
Six pieces of the three bladed feathering hub, part number E- 5887, other internal and external components from the right propeller were sent to the NTSB, Material Laboratory, Washington, DC. Three stud holes, a second dowel pin hole were not submitted for examination.
Metallurgical examination of the propeller hub revealed that the hub separated as a result of fatigue cracking that initiated from the holes for the studs used to attach the hub to the crankshaft flange. The fatigue initiated in about the third thread root from the bottom of the holes. The examination revealed combined fatigue cracking initiated from stud holes, labeled "1" and "2" and propagated almost all of the way from one blade socket to another. Examination of the portions of the hub mounting face revealed the presences of "extensive fretting damage." There were no defects found in the hub that may have contributed to the cracking.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5494J
- Reported as
- Cessna 310R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 310R0292
- Engine
- Continental IO-520M, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Northland Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Destination
- SYR · Syracuse, NY
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- ROC · Greater Rochester Intl., runway 7, 4,403 × 150 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
- 27
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day