Stinson 108 N97120

Summary

On 27 March 1997 at about 18:38 local time, a Stinson 108 registered N97120 was involved in an accident near Greenfield, Indiana, 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

27 March 1997 at 18:38

Classification

Accident

Location

Greenfield, Indiana, United States

Nearest airport

Pope Field (GFD)

Coordinates

39.7899, -85.7708

Aircraft

Stinson 108

Registration

N97120

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Greenwood

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI97FA093

1 person died.

a loss of engine power due to restricted movement in the exhaust valve and rotted/weathered ignition harness, and the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in an inadvertant stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After takeoff, witnesses observed the airplane's engine sputter at approximately 200 feet over the departure end of the runway. The airplane banked 40 to 90 degrees to the left and stalled. The pilot had an engine loss two weeks prior to this accident during which he flew the airplane back to the runway and landed on a taxiway. Subsequence examination of the engine revealed stuck exhaust valves on number six and number one cylinders. Both ignition harnesses had numerous cracks in the ground shielding, with electrical tape over some of the cracks. Three new ignition harnesses had been installed with no maintenance entry in the engine logbook. The remaining ignition harnesses appeared to be the originals.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.