Titan TORNADO N4070F

Summary

On 15 October 2015 at about 17:00 local time, a Titan TORNADO registered N4070F was involved in an accident near Mitchells, Virginia, United States. One person was 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 2015 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Mitchells, Virginia, United States

Coordinates

38.3619, -78.0258

Aircraft

Titan TORNADO

Registration

N4070F

Category

Airplane

Year built

2007

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Warrenton → Warrenton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA16LA016

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power due to fatigue cracking and separation of the No. 3 cylinder exhaust valve stem.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, after flying the airplane for about 40 minutes on a personal flight, the engine suddenly lost power and ran rough. The pilot could not maintain level flight and performed a forced landing to a road. After touchdown on a roadway, it turned to the left, and the airplane departed the pavement, struck a drainage ditch, and then struck a fence. The airplane’s wingtips, landing gear, and stabilator were substantially damaged. Examination of the engine revealed the No. 3 cylinder had incurred significant internal damage. Numerous metal fragments were present, the piston had broken up, and the exhaust valve head had separated from the stem. Further examination revealed multiple initiation fatigue cracking of the exhaust valve stem, which progressed until failure. Research indicated that fatigue cracking of exhaust valves in similar engines had occurred in the past. Investigations by multiple countries revealed that valve stem separation due to fatigue, in addition to stem cracking of other valves in engines that did ultimately separate, had occurred. This evidence also indicated that overheating of the valves was at least a factor in those engine failures.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.