Hard landing Accident Beechcraft A36 Bonanza N191HL,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 211680
 
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Date:Wednesday 30 May 2018
Time:11:08
Type:Silhouette image of generic BE36 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Beechcraft A36 Bonanza
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N191HL
MSN: E-1437
Year of manufacture:1979
Total airframe hrs:4384 hours
Engine model:Continental IO-520-BB
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:East of Tonopah Airport (KTPH), Tonopah, NV -   United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Tonopah Airport, NV (TPH/KTPH)
Destination airport:Dodge City Municipal Airport, KS (DDC/KDDC)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The private pilot reported that, after the airplane reached about 8,000 ft mean sea level for the personal, cross-country flight, he began to smell smoke and then heard a popping sound. The engine then began to lose power, and he initiated a return to the airport. During the descent, the engine lost all power, and the pilot maneuvered the airplane to land on a highway. Due to obstructions, the pilot subsequently landed the airplane on a highway median. The airplane landed hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings.
Examination of the engine revealed signatures consistent with detonation, which led to the failure of the No. 4 piston, the crankcase becoming pressurized, oil being pumped overboard, and the eventual oil starvation of the engine components.

A review of data from the engine data monitor (EDM) revealed that, during the flight that occurred earlier that day, the fuel flows and engine temperatures were appropriate. However, the EDM data for the accident flight revealed that the fuel flow was significantly lower during the takeoff and en route climb portions of the flight and that the cylinder head, turbine inlet, and oil temperatures reached extremely high values.

The pilot stated that he could not specifically recall the steps he took to manage the fuel/air mixture during the flight. The low fuel flow recorded on the EDM along with the excessive temperatures suggests that the mixture was set lean. Additionally, following the accident, the mixture control appeared to be leaned for cruise flight, rather than at full rich. However, the aircraft flight manual specified that the fuel mixture should be set to full rich during all operational phases from engine start through cruise climb. Given the evidence, it is likely that the pilot improperly leaned the fuel/air mixture and that he did not adequately monitor critical engine parameters via the cockpit gauges, which led to the high engine temperatures going undetected and resulted in oil starvation and the subsequent catastrophic engine failure.



Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to properly lean the fuel/air mixture and to monitor critical engine parameters during the en route climb to cruise level, which resulted in excessive engine heat and oil starvation and the subsequent catastrophic engine failure.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: WPR18LA156
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 6 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB

FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=191HL

Location

Images:


Photo: NTSB

Media:

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
30-May-2018 21:27 Geno Added
31-May-2018 00:03 Iceman 29 Updated [Source, Embed code]
22-Dec-2019 14:14 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Accident report, ]
22-Dec-2019 17:10 harro Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Photo]

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