Piper PA-28-181 N4381S

Summary

On 15 October 2000 at about 14:07 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N4381S was involved in an accident near Southborough, Massachusetts, 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

15 October 2000 at 14:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Southborough, Massachusetts, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N4381S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bedford → Vineyard Haven

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC01LA013

Nobody was injured.

A failed connecting rod assembly, with the initiating event undetermined.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was in a climb, passing 3,500 feet, when the pilot heard a "bang". The engine lost power, and oil began leaking from the engine compartment. The pilot then made a forced landing on the Massachusetts Turnpike. During the landing flare, the airplane struck highway reflectors, a sign, and an automobile. Examination of the airplane's Lycoming O-360-A4M engine revealed a breach in the casing, in the vicinity of the number 1 piston. In addition, the number 1 piston connecting rod cap was missing, along with one complete rod bolt, and the manufactured head of the other rod bolt. The fracture surfaces were obliterated, and did not provide any clues of fracture event initiation. Type 74502 connecting rods were used in the overhaul of the engine. Since its certification in November 1974, the O-360-A4M engine had always been manufactured utilizing LW-11750 connecting rods. Predecessor O-360 series engines were manufactured using 74502 connecting rods; however, those rods and their immediate successors were superceded by LW-11750 connecting rods in May 1970. The LW-11750 connecting rod had a larger grip area than the 74502, and utilized a longer rod bolt to secure the connecting rod cap to the connecting rod yoke. There was, however, no evidence that the use of the 74502 connecting rod would have resulted in a rod or rod bolt failure. At the time of the accident, the engine's time since overhaul was 50 hours.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.