Cessna 210 N6540X

Summary

On 9 March 2006 at about 22:30 local time, a Cessna 210 registered N6540X was involved in an accident near Jesup, Georgia, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 March 2006 at 22:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Jesup, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Jesup-Wayne County (JES)

Coordinates

31.5522, -81.8761

Aircraft

Cessna 210

Registration

N6540X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Brunswick → Atlanta

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL06LA050

1 person had minor injuries.

The loss of engine power due to the fatigue failure of the crankshaft, which resulted in a forced landing, and an in-flight collision with trees. A factor associated with the accident was the failure of other maintenance personnel to comply with the engine manufacturer's service bulletin following a previous mishap.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed the Malcolm Mc Kinnon Airport (SSI), on an instrument cross-country flight to Peachtree DeKalb Airport. He leveled off at 6,000 feet, and noticed that the engine analyzer No. 2 cylinder light began to flicker, and shortly thereafter the low voltage light illuminated. The pilot contacted air traffic control personnel (ATC), and requested to return to SSI. After the request was made to return to SSI, the engine began to shake violently while making a loud "banging" noise and the propeller stopped. The pilot informed ATC of the emergency, and requested to divert to the nearest airport. ATC diverted the pilot to the Jesup-Wayne County Airport (JES). The pilot stated that he was unable to maintain altitude and crashed into a stand of trees 2 miles southeast of JES. The crankshaft was removed from the engine and sent to the National Transportation Safety Board, Office of Research and Engineering Materials Laboratory Division for further examination. Examination disclosed that the crankshaft was broken due to fatigue through the crank cheek between the No. 1 and No. 2 connecting rod journals. Review of the airplane logbooks revealed that on November 20, 1989, a gear up landing occurred. The propeller was removed and the crankshaft was run-out and found to be .0006 out of round. According to the Service Bulletin M84-16, which was in place at the time of the mishap, if any damage greater than "minor dressing of the propeller tips to correct the problem" occurs, a complete teardown must be performed. A teardown was not performed, and a serviceable propeller was reinstalled and the airplane returned to service. The logbooks revealed there were approximately 750 flight hours on the crankshaft before it failed.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.