Cessna P210N N732FU

Summary

On 16 February 2016 at about 17:30 local time, a Cessna P210N registered N732FU was involved in an accident near Bryan, Texas, United States. 3 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 February 2016 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Bryan, Texas, United States

Coordinates

30.7739, -96.4544

Aircraft

Cessna P210N

Registration

N732FU

Category

Airplane

Year built

1980

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Arlington → College Station

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN16LA107

1 person was seriously injured.

A failure of the crankshaft due to improper torque of the crankcase through bolts.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that, 10 miles from the destination airport, the passengers heard a loud "clank" and smoke entered the cockpit. Shortly thereafter, the engine experienced a total loss of power and the propeller stopped turning. The pilot selected a field as a forced landing site, but the airplane impacted trees and terrain at the edge of the field. The pilot and passengers were able to extricate themselves through the right side passenger window. A postaccident engine examination revealed a catastrophic failure of the engine crankshaft between the No. 2 main bearing journal and the No. 2 connecting rod journal. The damage displayed on the No. 2 bearing was consistent with the bearing having shifted and spun. Several of the bearing supports displayed fretting near the through-bolt holes. An accurate measurement of the preaccident through-bolt torques could not be determined due to the loads subjected upon the crankcase when the crankshaft failed. Review of maintenance records indicated that the through bolts were properly torqued during the remanufacturing process nearly 1,000 flight hours before the accident and that there was no record of major work performed on the engine since that time; however, the wear signatures displayed on the bearing supports indicated that the crankcase halves were shifting in a manner consistent with improper torque of the through bolts.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.