Catastrophic engine failure today in flight

[chrisk]

Well done.  I only hope I do as well when my time comes.

[Piloto]

The201Pilot

 

Keep the broken bolt secure as this may be your evidence of improper assembly (over torquing). You can make a claim to the engine shop and get a another engine for free. Take pictures of the connecting rod thru the hole in the case.

 

Good Luck

 

José 

[N33GG]

Good job Captain!

I am glad you are OK.

These are the stories I really like reading.

[cliffy]

GREAT JOB IN A VERY STRESSFUL SITUATION

MY HAT IS OFF TO YOU!

[MB65E]

Nice work man!! When I tore ours down a few years ago, the wrong rod bolts were installed!! The new/correct style bolts were $120 each. I'd need to check part numbers, but I remember it being a hit on the wallet that was not planned for. Thanks for sharing and posting the pictures.

Good luck!

[PTK]

Excellent handling of a most stressful situation Sir! Certainly very happy you are safe.

My hope is to handle it half as good as you did if it ever happened to me!

Make a claim and demand a factory engine. Some things are best left to professionals.

[fantom]

Great job keeping your cool, and putting your plane down safely.

 

 

[DAVIDWH]

And the name of the engine shop responsible for this " infant mortality" is........................????

 

My rebuilt engine arrives in two weeks. Wasn't too concerned until I read your post.

 

Whew, great job!!

[PTK]

Pertinent article from Savvy Aviator News that just came across my email:

http://www.avweb.com/news/savvyaviator/savvy_aviator_58_why_mechanics_make_mistakes198000-1.html

[N177MC]

If that is the con-rod bolt & nut in the 2nd photo, then this shop is in big trouble ...

[Roger O]

As others have said, job well done.  Thank God you are ok, sheet metal can be fixed.  Please keep us informed as to the outcome with the engine shop.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Roger

[jetdriven]

Now because you didn't break the plane the insurance will not cover. The irony of these events. Looks like the connecting rod bolt was overtight and failed. Did the connecting rod broke? I have seen this happens on new engines with less than 500 hours but is very rare.

 

You did an excellent job on getting the plane down. Hope everything turns out good in getting another engine.

 

José

An over torqued or under torqued rod bolt will still fail. The over torque rod bolt stretches too far and fails in tension. The under torqued bolt fails in cyclic fatigue. Regardless of bent metal, the insurance pays everything but the engine.

Congratulations on keeping your cool and getting it down in one piece. Hopefully the shop does the right thing.

[Nathan Peterson]

Glad your on the ground and safe!

[N177MC]

 

 

An over torqued or under torqued rod bolt will still fail. The over torque rod bolt stretches too far and fails in tension. The under torqued bolt fails in cyclic fatigue. Regardless of bent metal, the insurance pays everything but the engine

 

And a re-used bolt will fail just the same as an over-torqued bolt !

[Seth]

I know we don't practice it enough, but a power off approach from altitude to then perfectly hit the runway, not to fast, but easily making it, well done.

 

The picture of the hole in your case scares me.  You are lucky no oil made it to the windscreen obscuring your view.

 

Let us know how this all turns out.  Thank you for sharing the experience.  Anything flying wise you think you could have done better in retrospect?  Flying over your home base for an hour first?  Navigating airport to airport since it was a new engine and always staying within gliding distance of a runway?  

 

You checked for leaks before hand.  Anything else?

 

Take care,

 

-Seth

[DS1980]

Excellent airman ship.

[AndyFromCB]

[TWinter]

Keeping calm and getting down safe..Great job!

[scottfromiowa]

Well done. Glad you are OK.

[jezzie]

Well done 201 flyer,

As the owner of another 77 201 north of you, I would also be interested to know who did the work. This aviation world we live in is a small one and the rest of us need to know who to stay away from and be able to Fly Safe. I have nearly 100 hours on my recently major overhauled engine and would not look forward to a similar situation.

[jkb458]

Wow...  Awesome job on getting down safely!!!  Glad that you are OK!!!  Excellent aviating...

[kevinw]

Every pilots worst nightmare. Great job in handling the situation. That's a story you'll be telling forever!

[bonal]

Likewise to all the above great job!

[Guest]

I guess the thought that a defect in materials is just as likely as a defect in assembly has escaped the experts?

Anyone thought to question why there is not a drop of oil on the case outside of the hole?

Just my opinion but its a bit premature to start the witch hunt without disassembling the engine.

Clarence

[Piloto]

I guess the thought that a defect in materials is just as likely as a defect in assembly has escaped the experts?

Anyone thought to question why there is not a drop of oil on the case outside of the hole?

Just my opinion but its a bit premature to start the witch hunt without disassembling the engine.

Clarence

 

Any oil residue may have been cleaned to enhance the extent of the crack on the picture. The location of the case hole is in exact alignment with cylinder #4 connecting rod. The hole could only be made from the inside by a moving part such as a lose or broken connecting rod. The fractured bolt shows damaged threads and a slight tapered end. The damage thread pattern is consistent with over torquing and the tappered end is consistent with excessive tensile force such as when the bolt is over torqued. Notice that the damage thread extent to the shank of the bolt. This happens when the bolt is of the wrong length or a washer was missing.

 

 

José