Cessna 152 N45929

Summary

On 22 October 2006 at about 14:41 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N45929, operated by United Flight Services, was involved in an accident near Prunedale, California, United States. 2 people were 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

22 October 2006 at 14:41

Classification

Accident

Location

Prunedale, California, United States

Nearest airport

Off Airport

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N45929

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

United Flight Services

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Watsonville → Salinas

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX07LA016

1 person had minor injuries.

Total loss of engine power due to failure of connecting rod cap during cruise flight for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the flight instructor, he and his student departed on the flight when, about halfway to their destination, the engine cowling and instrument panel began to shake violently. He adjusted the mixture setting and scanned the instruments and noted that the engine oil temperature and pressure were still indicating in the normal range. Shortly after that, the engine began shaking and then stopped entirely and gray smoke filled the cockpit. The flight instructor noted flames coming from the nose area of the aircraft and attempted to find a suitable landing site through the smoke and haze. The flight instructor elected to land in an agricultural field. The airplane touched down on the main landing gear, and as the nose wheel touched down it dug into the dirt and the airplane nosed over. When the instructor and student exited the airplane, they again observed a small fire near the front engine area, but it extinguished itself. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the engine was examined and a large hole was found on the bottom side of the engine crankcase between the number 1 and number 2 cylinders. A concentration of oil was found on the inside of the cowling at the same approximate location as the crankcase hole. FAA inspectors discovered that the number 1 connecting rod cap had separated from the connecting rod during engine operation. The reason for this occurrence is undetermined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.