Beechcraft 36 N2021T

Summary

On 17 January 2019 at about 22:50 local time, a Beechcraft 36 registered N2021T, operated by Big Fuga LLC, was involved in an accident near Fredericksburg, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 January 2019 at 22:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Fredericksburg, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Gillespie County Airport (T82)

Coordinates

30.2606, -98.9069

Aircraft

Beechcraft 36

Registration

N2021T

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Big Fuga LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Antonio → San Antonio

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19LA055

1 person died.

The loss of engine power due to fatigue failure of the crankshaft.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident pilot was in cruise flight in a single-engine airplane when he declared "mayday" on the radio, stating the airplane's engine was on fire. The accident airplane impacted a field, crossed a road, and came to rest upright. A postcrash fire consumed the majority of the airframe. The airplane was equipped with a turbo-charged reciprocating engine and propeller that had been converted under a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC). The engine had accumulated 412.2 hours between the last overhaul and the last annual inspection. The last inspection was about three months before the accident. An examination of the engine revealed fire damage and limited rotation. Disassembly of the engine revealed a broken camshaft and crankshaft. Metallurgical examination of the crankshaft revealed crack arrest marks in the crankshaft, consistent with fatigue, which initiated in the fillet radius at the forward end of the number 6 connecting rod journal. Multiple crack origins and prominent crack arrest lines were consistent with a relatively high stress associated with crack initiation. However, a reason for the high stress or fatigue initiation could not be determined based on the limited airplane records and the damage to the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.