Cessna 152 N94292

Summary

On 13 November 2016 at about 18:00 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N94292, operated by Dean International INC, was involved in an accident near Miami, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 November 2016 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Miami, Florida, United States

Coordinates

26.3369, -80.6253

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N94292

Category

Airplane

Year built

1982

Engines

1

Operator

Dean International INC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lakeland → Miami

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17LA044

Nobody was injured.

The loss of torque on the No. 3 connecting rod’s nuts, which resulted in the failure of the No. 3 connecting rod’s bolts and a subsequent total loss of engine power due to the operator's maintenance personnel’s improper installation of the connecting rod nuts.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that, during the instructional flight to accumulate flight time, the airplane experienced a rough-running engine in cruise flight and that the engine subsequently experienced a total loss of power. The pilot tried to restart the engine to no avail. He then chose to conduct a forced landing to a road, during which the airplane touched down on soft, wet ground before reaching the road. It then nosed over and came to rest inverted. During recovery of the airplane, large cracks were noted in the engine crankcase near the No. 2 cylinder. Disassembly of the engine revealed that the crankshaft was fractured at the No. 3 connecting rod journal and exhibited signatures consistent with extreme heat. The No. 3 connecting rod bolts fractured at the point where the nuts contacted the connecting rod. Each connecting rod nut had a flat-face side and a raised-lip side. As found, the nuts were oriented with the raised-lip side touching the connecting rod despite the engine manufacturer's service instruction, which stated that "Nuts [were] to be assembled with flat face side touching the connecting rod." The caution associated with the orientation of the connecting rod nuts at installation stated that "the connecting rod bolt cannot be tightened correctly if the nut on the connecting rod is installed incorrectly." The operator's maintenance personnel likely installed the nuts incorrectly during an engine overhaul about 246 flight hours before the accident flight, which resulted in a loss of torque on the connecting rod's nuts and the subsequent fracture of the connecting rod's bolts and total loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.