Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR N59418

Summary

On 26 July 2014 at about 19:45 local time, a Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR registered N59418 was involved in an accident near Newnan, Georgia, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 July 2014 at 19:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Newnan, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Panther Creek Airport (17GA)

Coordinates

33.4667, -84.8656

Aircraft

Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR

Registration

N59418

Category

Airplane

Year built

1942

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Atlanta → Newnan

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14LA360

2 people were seriously injured.

A total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A review of the airplane's maintenance records revealed that the accident flight was the airplane's first flight following an annual inspection. The private pilot and passenger departed on the personal flight and flew about 35 nautical miles to a private airstrip. A witness reported seeing the airplane conduct a low pass over the runway and then enter a climb. As the airplane climbed through about 200 ft above ground level, the engine experienced a sudden loss of power, and the airplane subsequently descended into trees. Video footage from the witness's cell phone corroborated his statement. Postaccident examination revealed that the engine turned freely by hand when the propeller was rotated, and compression was established on the Nos. 1, 4, and 5 cylinders. No compression was established on the Nos. 2 and 3 cylinders. The No. 3 cylinder was impact-damaged. Examination of the No. 2 cylinder revealed an improperly adjusted intake valve set screw, which prevented the intake valve from closing completely. The No. 2 cylinder set screw was readjusted, and the intake valve subsequently closed normally, and compression was established. However, if the set screw had been set improperly before the flight, the engine problem should have been present throughout the flight rather than developing later in the flight; therefore, the effect of the improperly set screw on the engine performance could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.