- Date
- May 5, 1996, 16:54 local (20:54 UTC)
- Place
- Harrison, NY
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N8744ZCessna P206D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 25, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960505036249A
- Case key
- 39177
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
separation of the number one connecting rod bolt, which resulted in a total loss of engine power.
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 while returning to the airport during cruise flight, 'the engine suddenly started shaking violently....Then smoke started coming out of the front of the engine compartment. Suddenly the engine and [propeller] stopped cold. I realized that we could not make it to the runway and we then quickly decided to head for the water.' Examination of the engine revealed a 1 inch hole in the crankcase in the vicinity of the #2 cylinder, and the #1 connecting rod bolt had separated. The bolt was not located for further examination.
Factual narrative
On May 5, 1996, about 1654 eastern daylight time, a Cessna P206D, N8744Z, was substantially damaged when the airplane was ditched in a reservoir during a visual approach to Westchester County Airport, Harrison, New York. The private pilot and pilot rated passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight that departed about 1630. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
In the NTSB form 6120.1/2, the pilot reported that he and a passenger departed Westchester County Airport on a local flight with the intent to demonstrate the airplane to the passenger, a prospective partnership buyer. During the return flight, while in cruise, the pilot stated that "the engine suddenly started shaking violently. . . .Then smoke started coming out of the front of the engine compartment. Suddenly the engine and [propeller] stopped cold. I realized that we could not make it to the runway and we then quickly decided to head for the water."
The passenger reported that during the visual approach to runway 34 at 1400' MSL the engine lost power and blue smoke entered the cabin. He observed the tachometer at 2000 RPM and then about 1000' MSL, the engine lost total power, and the propeller stopped.
Postaccident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector revealed a 1" square hole in the crankcase in the vicinity of the number two cylinder.
The engine was examined by Alphin Aircraft Inc., Hagerstown, Maryland. The examination revealed that the number one connecting rod bolt had separated; however, the bolt was not located for further examination.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8744Z
- Reported as
- Cessna P206D
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- P206D-0544
- Airframe hours
- 4,500
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-A, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- George J. Colon
- Registered owner
- Cds Aircraft
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 1995 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- HPN
- Airport
- HPN · Westchester County
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
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 813 total · 687 in this make and model · 742 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HPN, 1 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.