North American AT-6D N29947

Summary

On 30 April 2022 at about 18:00 local time, a North American AT-6D registered N29947, operated by Cavanaugh Flight Museum, was involved in an accident near Fredericksburg, Texas, 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

30 April 2022 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Fredericksburg, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Gillespie County Airport (T82)

Coordinates

30.2492, -98.9137

Aircraft

North American AT-6D

Registration

N29947

Category

Airplane

Year built

1944

Engines

1

Operator

Cavanaugh Flight Museum

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN22LA187

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power due to a failure of the No. 1 cylinder.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he completed a preflight inspection and engine run-up with no anomalies noted. During the initial climb after takeoff, immediately after retracting the landing gear, the pilot noticed white smoke from the engine cowling. A few seconds later, the engine “coughed loudly” and lost total power. The pilot landed the airplane on the remaining runway; however, the airplane exited the runway and collided with a runway light. resulting in substantial damage to the left wing and left aileron. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors completed an examination of the airplane and assisted the owner’s mechanics with removing the engine for transport. They discovered that the No. 1 cylinder was cracked around its circumference. They did not observe any other anomalies during the examination. Postaccident engine examination confirmed that the No. 1 cylinder head fractured near the rear spark plug on the exhaust side. The mechanic noted it was likely that during the accident takeoff, the cylinder head separated due to pre-ignition or detonation stresses, which no longer allowed the push rods to operate the valves and resulted in a loss of engine power. A recurring FAA airworthiness directive (AD) was applicable for this airplane and related to visual inspections to prevent cylinder head cracking. The AD was completed 164.7 flight hours before the accident and was due to be completed again in 85.3 hours.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.