- Date
- May 16, 1999, 07:40 local (11:40 UTC)
- Place
- Monroe, CT
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N194PAAbrams Titan Tornado
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 19, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990516005179A
- Case key
- 46349
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 failure of the magneto (mag) cylinder bearing resulting in a total loss of power and subsequent forced landing.
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
While in cruise flight, the homebuilt airplane's engine lost total power. During the forced landing, the airplane's left wing contacted the ground and the airplane nosed over. Examination of the engine revealed that the magneto (mag) cylinder connecting rod bearing had failed. Additionally, the 2-cycle engine had been manufactured as a snowmobile engine.
Factual narrative
On May 16, 1999, about 0740 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Titan Tornado, N194PA, was substantially damaged during a forced landing and collision with terrain in Monroe, Connecticut. The certificated private pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight that departed the Twin Pine Airport, Pennington, New Jersey, about 0630, destined for the Waterbury-Oxford Airport, Oxford, Connecticut. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The airplane was owned and built by the pilot.
In a written statement, the pilot said he was flying at 1,500 feet above the ground, when the airplane's engine "missed" once and then lost total power. The pilot stated the airplane was too low to attempt a restart, and he established a glide for landing.
During the forced landing, the airplane's left wing contacted the ground and the airplane nosed over.
Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, revealed metallic particles inside the engine's crankcase. The engine was retained for further examination.
The engine was reexamined on May 26, 1999, by an NTSB Investigator, the FAA Inspector, and a representative of the engine manufacturer. The examination revealed that the mag cylinder connecting rod bearing had failed. Additionally, the 2 cycle Rotax 583 engine had been manufactured as a snowmobile engine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N194PA
- Reported as
- Abrams Titan Tornado (TITAN TORN)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- T93XXX60HK00
- Airframe hours
- 394
- Engine
- Rotax 583, 96 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Philip K. Abrams
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 17, 1998 · 55 hours before
- Departed
- N75 · Twin Pines, NJ
- Destination
- OXC · Oxford, CT
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,596 total · 450 in this make and model · 1,535 as pilot in command · 49 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DXR, 15 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.