Beechcraft A36 N3600A

Summary

On 22 January 2018 at about 14:45 local time, a Beechcraft A36 registered N3600A was involved in an accident near Abilene, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 January 2018 at 14:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Abilene, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Dyess Air Force Base (DYS)

Coordinates

32.4486, -99.7331

Aircraft

Beechcraft A36

Registration

N3600A

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Abilene → Abilene

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA084

1 person was seriously injured.

Maintenance personnel’s improper maintenance of the engine, which resulted in a catastrophic engine failure due the shifting/slipping of the No. 2 bearing and the subsequent oil starvation and total loss of engine power during cruise flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was conducting a cross-country, personal flight. He stated that, upon leveling off at cruise altitude, there was a "severe vibration" coming from the engine compartment, followed by a sound of the engine "coming apart." Oil covered the windshield, and the smoke entered the cockpit. The pilot was unable to return to the departure airport because it was beyond gliding distance, so he performed a forced landing on a field with the landing gear and flaps retracted. The pilot sustained serious injuries. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed a large hole in the left crankcase half over the No. 2 cylinder attachment point and a small hole in the right crankcase half over the No. 5 cylinder attachment point. The No. 2 main bearing had shifted in the bearing saddle, which cut off the oil supply to the No. 2 rod cap bearing. Shifting/slipping of the bearing can result from either improper torque application during cylinder replacement or improper grinding of the bearing journal during maintenance. The engine had been disassembled twice before the accident. An engine logbook entry showed that the No. 2 cylinder had been removed and replaced about 328 hours before the accident. It is likely that maintenance personnel did not conduct proper maintenance on the No. 2 cylinder during reassembly of the engine and that this ultimately led to the catastrophic engine failure due the shifting/slipping of the No. 2 bearing and the subsequent oil starvation and total loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.