Widner PIETENPOL AIRCAMPER N89JW

Summary

On 28 August 2000 at about 00:27 local time, a Widner PIETENPOL AIRCAMPER registered N89JW was involved in an accident near Andover, Minnesota, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 August 2000 at 00:27

Classification

Accident

Location

Andover, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

45.2499, -93.3305

Aircraft

Widner PIETENPOL AIRCAMPER

Registration

N89JW

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Alexandria → Minneapolis

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI00LA274

1 person had minor injuries.

The trees and the unsuitable terrain for landing encountered during the forced landing. Factors were the side slip to avoid the trees initiated by the pilot, the fractured piston, and the cracked cylinder.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was destroyed during a forced landing after a loss of engine power while in cruise flight. The pilot said that, at about 2 hours into the flight, he, "...heard, or felt a single jolt or retort. The plane continued to function normally. A short time later it began to smell 'hot' in the cockpit. Gauges were normal... Almost immediately I noted my cylinder head temperature had climbed to 400 [degrees] F." The pilot said that he subsequently saw blue smoke from the left side of the engine and it began to run rough. The pilot attempted to land in a "weed" field. He said that during the landing he, "...was approaching the trees at the end of the field so I side slipped to the ground striking the [right] wing, then the nose and coming to rest facing the direction I came from." The pilot reported that subsequent to the accident, he found that the number 4 cylinder and piston were damaged. He found the cylinder cracked and the piston skirt broken. He reported the extent of the damage to the aircraft as "destroyed". The pilot reported no other anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.