Aero Commander 112 N1181J

Summary

On 18 July 2022 at about 16:00 local time, a Aero Commander 112 registered N1181J was involved in an accident near Granbury, Texas, 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

18 July 2022 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Granbury, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Granbury Regional Airport (GDJ)

Coordinates

32.4444, -97.8169

Aircraft

Aero Commander 112

Registration

N1181J

Category

Airplane

Year built

1974

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Granbury → Granbury

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN22LA322

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power due to metal contamination within the cylinder following poor maintenance.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he performed a new engine run-up on the day of the accident. He stated that after he conducted a preflight inspection of the airplane, he taxied and performed multiple engine run-ups. He then shut down the engine and added fuel. The pilot started the engine and performed multiple engine run-ups both before and after taxiing to the runway with no engine anomalies noted. After takeoff, the engine sustained a loss of power while climbing through about 100 ft above ground level. The pilot performed a forced landing to a road, during which the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed one of the airbox’s three aluminum spacers was missing. Pieces of the spacer were found in cylinder Nos. 1 and 2 with additional material within the No 1 spark plug lead. The cylinders exhibited pitting damage from the spacer. It is likely that the metallic pieces within the engine cylinder shorted the engine ignition, thus reducing and/or ceasing engine power production on those cylinders. An examination of the remaining engine and systems revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. The accident occurred on the first flight following an annual inspection and engine installation following a propeller strike inspection. Investigators were not able to determine how the spacer was introduced to the cylinder.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.