Rockwell 112A N1381J

Summary

On 25 January 2004 at about 03:15 local time, a Rockwell 112A registered N1381J, operated by GPW Aeroservices, was involved in an accident near Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 January 2004 at 03:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Bedford, Massachusetts, United States

Coordinates

42.5181, -71.2992

Aircraft

Rockwell 112A

Registration

N1381J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

GPW Aeroservices

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hyannis → Nashua

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

IAD04LA008

2 people had minor injuries.

Failure of the #2 piston connecting rod cap, which resulted in a hole in the engine crankcase and a loss of engine power. A factor was dark night lighting condition.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While descending through 5,500 feet on a moonless night, thick black smoke filled the cabin. The two pilots' initial assessment was that the smoke may have been the result of an electrical fire, so the pilot in command shut off the master switch and vented the cabin. The second pilot grabbed his flashlight and in checking the engine gauges, found there was no oil pressure. The pilots felt they were about to lose engine power, so the second pilot turned on the master switch to notify approach control, and requested vectors to a nearby airport. Approximately 1 minute later, about 4,500 feet, the engine began to vibrate, and lost power. The vibration intensified, and the engine began to shake violently. The pilot in command shut down the engine so it wouldn't break the engine mounts. The second pilot flew the airplane at best glide airspeed, and about 5-6 miles north of the airport, both pilots realized that they were not going to be able to reach it. They looked for a place to land, and found an area that did not appear to have people or homes in it. Approaching the ground, the pilots saw trees in the landing light, and the second pilot maneuvered the airplane to avoid any direct tree hits. Just before ground impact, the pilot in command turned off the master switch. After hitting several trees, the airplane came to a stop, and became engulfed in flames. Because the doors wouldn’t open, the pilots climbed out an opening where the windshield had been. A post-accident engine examination revealed that the #2 piston connecting rod cap had separated, and that there was a hole in the side of the engine case. The number 1, 3, and 4 cylinders were covered with black residue, and the number 2 cylinder was coated with white residue. The engine was last overhauled in September 1990, about 700 operating hours earlier. A service instruction recommended that an engine be overhauled in the 12th year after the previous overhaul, if it had not accumulated the recommended hourly time between overhauls (1,800 hours for that model engine) by that time.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.