- If you do not have shoulder harnesses, do not fly your plane. I won't go with you.
- Always have a place picked out to land, no matter the phase of flight. Always know the terrain below you, the surface wind, the glide ratio, etc. At 5,000 feet AGL you have 5 minutes until you touch down with no power.
- Execute your plan to meet up with the planet, and fly the airplane all the way into the crash!!
Son Taylor Ewing and father Kent Ewing have picture snapped moments after climbing out of crashed airplane.
Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Birmingham, Alabama
Continental Motors Inc; Mobile, Alabama
Bonanza Baron Pilot Training; Virginia Beach, Virginia
Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board:http://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Docket And Docket Items - National Transportation Safety Board: http://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
Continental Motors Inc; Mobile, Alabama
Bonanza Baron Pilot Training; Virginia Beach, Virginia
Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board:http://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Docket And Docket Items - National Transportation Safety Board: http://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
Aviation Accident Data Summary - National Transportation Safety Board: http://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Accident Number: ERA14LA052
Date & Time: 11/28/2013, 0950 CST
Registration: N5655D
Aircraft: BEECH V35
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Loss of engine power (total)
Injuries: 3 Minor
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal
Analysis
The pilot reported that, during approach, he heard a “loud pop” and that the engine then lost total power. The airplane was too far away to glide to the destination airport, so the pilot chose to perform a forced landing to a field, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage.
Subsequent teardown examination of the engine revealed evidence of oil starvation at the No. 2 connecting rod, which resulted in its separation from the crankshaft and its subsequent puncturing of a hole in the crankcase. The oil tube from the main bearing to the No. 2 connecting rod was found clear and unrestricted. At some point during the life of the engine, the interior of the rocker covers had been coated with an unapproved material. The coating material had been flaking off during operation and had been cleaned from two of six of the rocker covers. The four remaining covers still contained the coating material, but it could not be determined if the material caused the oil restriction because none of the material was found in any of the oil or oil passages. However, it is possible that any restricting material dislodged and escaped during the engine failure.
Probable Cause and Findings
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The failure of the No. 2 connecting rod due to oil starvation, which resulted in a total loss of engine power.
Findings
Aircraft
Recip engine power section - Failure (Cause)
Personnel issues
Maintenance - Maintenance personnel
Factual Information
On November 28, 2013, about 0950 central standard time, a Beech V35, N5655D, operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged during a forced landing to a field in Trussville, Alabama, following a total loss of engine power while on approach to Birmingham International Airport (BHM), Birmingham, Alabama. The airline transport pilot and two passengers received minor injuries. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the planned flight to BHM. The flight departed Norfolk International Airport (ORF), Norfolk, Virginia, about 0620.
The pilot reported that the departure from ORF and cruise flight were uneventful. The airplane was descending toward BHM through 5,400 feet mean sea level (msl), from 6,500 feet msl, when he heard a loud bang and the engine lost all power. The airplane was too far from BHM to glide there and the pilot elected to perform a forced landing in a field.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, during the landing, the airplane collided with a fence and farm equipment, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. Initial examination of the engine revealed a hole in the top of the engine case.
The airplane was equipped with a Continental Motors IO-550B, 300-horsepower engine. The engine was manufactured in 1994 and overhauled in 2004, after accumulating 1,457 hours of operation. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on August 15, 2013. At that time, the engine had accumulated 1,195 hours since overhaul. The airplane flew about 62 hours from the time of the last annual inspection, until the accident.
The engine was subsequently retained and forwarded to the manufacturer's facility for a teardown examination under the supervision of an FAA inspector. The examination revealed evidence of oil starvation at the No. 2 connecting rod, which resulted in its separation from the crankshaft. During the separation, the No. 2 connecting rod punctured a hole in the engine crankcase. The oil tube from the main bearing to the No. 2 connecting rod was clear and unrestricted at the time of inspection. Additionally, the remaining connecting rods did not exhibit signs of oil starvation. Further examination revealed that at some point during the life of the engine, the interior of the rocker covers had been coated with an unapproved material. The coating material had been flaking off during operation and had been cleaned from two of six the rocker covers. The remaining covers still contained the material.
History of Flight
Approach
Loss of engine power (total) (Defining event)
Emergency descent
Off-field or emergency landing
Landing
Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
Pilot Information
Certificate: Airline Transport; Commercial
Age: 70
Airplane Rating(s): Multi-engine Land; Single-engine Land; Single-engine Sea
Seat Occupied: Left
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used:
Instrument Rating(s): Airplane
Second Pilot Present: No
Instructor Rating(s): Airplane Multi-engine; Airplane Single-engine; Instrument Airplane
Toxicology Performed: No
Medical Certification: Class 2 With Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 03/12/2013
Occupational Pilot: Yes
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: 06/26/2013
Flight Time: 16500 hours (Total, all aircraft), 3500 hours (Total, this make and model), 16000 hours (Pilot In Command, all aircraft), 139 hours (Last 90 days, all aircraft), 53 hours (Last 30 days, all aircraft)
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Manufacturer: BEECH
Registration: N5655D
Model/Series: V35
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture:
Amateur Built: No
Airworthiness Certificate: Normal; Utility
Serial Number: D-8406
Landing Gear Type: Retractable - Tricycle
Seats: 4
Date/Type of Last Inspection: 08/15/2013, Annual
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 3400 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection: 52 Hours
Engines: Reciprocating
Airframe Total Time: 7080 Hours at time of accident
Engine Manufacturer: Continental
ELT: C91 installed, not activated
Engine Model/Series: IO-550
Registered Owner: N5655D LLC
Rated Power: 300 hp
Operator: Kent Ewing
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: BHM, 650 ft msl
Observation Time: 0953 CST
Distance from Accident Site: 9 Nautical Miles
Direction from Accident Site: 250°
Lowest Cloud Condition:
Temperature/Dew Point: 2°C / -9°C
Lowest Ceiling: Broken / 25000 ft agl
Visibility: 10 Miles
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: Calm
Visibility (RVR):
Altimeter Setting: 30.48 inches Hg
Visibility (RVV):
Precipitation and Obscuration: No Obscuration; No Precipitation
Departure Point: Norfolk, VA (ORF)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: IFR
Destination: Birmingham, AL (BHM)
Type of Clearance: IFR
Departure Time: 0620 CST
Type of Airspace:
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 1 Minor
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 2 Minor
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 3 Minor
Latitude, Longitude: 33.603333, 86.588889 (est)
On board for the 3-1/2-hour flight were his son and his son's girlfriend.
And a freshly baked pumpkin pie.
But delivery of the pie and passengers to the Thanksgiving dinner table took a terrifying twist near the end of the flight when the engine blew out over Trussville, less than 20 miles from Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport.
But, as Ewing relates to Alabama Media Group in a phone interview and an essay he has submitted to an aviation magazine: "All in all, it was a beautiful day for flying."
"As we passed north of Atlanta into Georgia and Alabama we commented on how great the visibility was -- we could see center city Atlanta and actually could pick out Stone Mountain to the East of the city!" Ewing wrote in his essay. "It was one of those days. The drone of the engine put my two passengers to sleep for a short while. I took a peaceful shot of them using my mini iPad.
"The quiet before the storm," he wrote.
Approaching Birmingham, the tower radioed: "N5655D you are cleared to descend to 3500, turn left to 245 degrees to avoid the Birmingham departure corridor."
Ewing said they waited until about 18 miles from the airport, its outline in sight and started a descent at 500 feet per minute.
"Pretty routine stuff," Ewing said.
"We got a muffled pow/bam, immediate white smoke in the cabin and a spray pattern of oil on the windscreen," Ewing wrote. "My son (Taylor) and I go into immediate action."
As a flight and ground instructor, Ewing has been teaching this kind of incident for years "so no buck fever here," he said.
"I put out an immediate mayday, mayday, mayday and opened the window to clear the smoke."
The airport control tower began telling him where the freeways were and Ewing told them he didn't think they had engine power to make it the needed eight or so miles to a freeway.
"I did reach down and switch tanks---just because we train that way," Ewing wrote. "I did turn on the fuel boost pump with nothing registering so put it back off. No need to have excess gas on a blown engine."
About 4,000 feet Ewing said his mind switched to landing mode. Interstate 59 was too far north and I-20 was too far south.
"My son correctly kept pointing out the Birmingham Airport at 1230 o'clock and kept scanning the instrument panel and the outside world with his cell phone," Ewing wrote.
He homed in on a field about 2,000 feet long with trees and a fence line down the middle.
As we lined up parallel to the fence line I could see the gray barn at the far south end of the field," he wrote. "Where I wished to touch down ended up about 800 to 1,000 feet behind me."
They touched down at about 90 knots (103 mph), bounced twice.
"Our skid marks showed up about 300 feet prior to the barn," he said. "As we hit the southern edge of the gravel drive leading up to the barn, we went airborne again and into the tree line at 50 knots. ... I was aiming at light spots between the trees, mostly small oaks. We did not hit any directly head on.
"The right wing tip light was removed by a pole next to the barn, but the left wing hit a tree with enough force to turn us left 90 degrees before we came to a stop by a hefty tree which caught the airframe exactly at the right wing root where the door hinges are. The door (we had not cracked it) flew off and landed about 30 feet down track from the aircraft; my sunglasses and my son's cell phone went another 100 feet down the same track."
Going through Ewing's mind was a quote by famed pilot Bob Hoover: "Fly the aircraft as far into the crash as far as you can."
That means "don't give up," Ewing said. "Continue to stay in control of the aircraft."
Ewing had minor cracked ribs but no injuries requiring hospitalization. Once out of the plane, "we were high-fiving."
"We even checked to see if the pumpkin pie survived," he said. "It did."
Ewing said he doesn't know why the engine failed, having shown no signs of trouble in previous inspections.
"I just hope the NTSB can conduct a sufficiently thorough evaluation to determine something meaningful in order to predict and/or prevent future catastrophic failures," he said.
A single engine Beechcraft made an emergency landing in a Trussville field Thursday morning. Police say the people on board were lucky to walk away with just some bruises. According to police, Kent Ewing, his son and his son's girlfriend were flying from Virginia Beach to Birmingham for Thanksgiving. At 9:46 a.m., Ewing who was piloting the plane notified air traffic control of engine problems.
Police say it took them some time to find the farm between Pinebluff Trail and Thompson Lane where the pilot made an emergency landing. The plane landed in a field but didn't stop until it hit trees beside a barn. The family had some bruises and a cut finger. No one was taken to the hospital.
"They were very fortunate. We were very surprised to see all three passengers were walking around," said Lt. Eric Rush of Trussville Police. A FAA investigator is on scene. The plane won't be removed until this weekend.
======
TRUSSVILLE, Alabama -- A small plane made an emergency landing in a large field in this town northeast of Birmingham this morning but there were no serious injuries, according to Trussville Fire Chief Russell Ledbetter.
The three occupants on board had minor injuries but were not taken to the hospital, Ledbetter said.
The occupants, whose names were not disclosed, said they were flying from out-of-state to Birmingham for Thanksgiving when the engine apparently stopped, Ledbetter said.
Trussville Police Chief Don Sivley said the plane clipped some trees as it tried to make the landing in a field between Thompson Lane and the Cahaba Cove subdivision.
No houses were damaged.
"There were some minor cuts and bruises, but they were up and walking around," Sivley said. "They are going to end up having a fine Thanksgiving."
The plane was damaged in the crash and doesn't appear to be airworthy, Ledbetter said.
Ledbetter said he got the call at 10:11 a.m.
===========
A single-engine plane went down near Cahaba Cove in Trussville this morning.
The plane was located by Trussville police on the back side of Pinebluff Lane and Cahaba Cove.
Three people from Virginia were on the plane. There were no serious injuries.
“They were very fortunate,” Chief Don Sivley of the Trussville police department said. “They were all walking around. No broken bones or anything serious. Just some bumps and bruises.”
========
A small plane made an emergency landing in a rural area near Trussville on Thanksgiving Day morning.
The incident happened just before 10:00am CT, southeast of Trussville near Pine Bluff Trail.
The Trussville Police Department tells Alabama’s 13 News Digital Journalist Sarah Killian that the single-engine Beechcraft plane lost power, and crashed in an open field, and ended up in a tree.
Three people were on board the plane, and no major injuries were reported.
The passengers were flying from Virginia Beach, Virginia, en route to the Birmingham airport.
Those on board were a father, his son, and his son’s girlfriend.
There was no fire, and the Federal Aviation Administration is on the scene investigating.
The plane landed next to a barn with most intact, except the tail is broken off.
A Trussville Police officer says they were surprised to see people walking around the crash site when officers arrived.
The TPD praises the pilot for an excellent landing in those circumstances.
NTSB Identification: ERA14LA052
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, November 28, 2013 in Trussville, AL
Probable Cause Approval Date: 09/29/2014
Aircraft: BEECH V35, registration: N5655D
Injuries: 3 Minor.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The pilot reported that, during approach, he heard a “loud pop” and that the engine then lost total power. The airplane was too far away to glide to the destination airport, so the pilot chose to perform a forced landing to a field, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. Subsequent teardown examination of the engine revealed evidence of oil starvation at the No. 2 connecting rod, which resulted in its separation from the crankshaft and its subsequent puncturing of a hole in the crankcase. The oil tube from the main bearing to the No. 2 connecting rod was found clear and unrestricted. At some point during the life of the engine, the interior of the rocker covers had been coated with an unapproved material. The coating material had been flaking off during operation and had been cleaned from two of six of the rocker covers. The four remaining covers still contained the coating material, but it could not be determined if the material caused the oil restriction because none of the material was found in any of the oil or oil passages. However, it is possible that any restricting material dislodged and escaped during the engine failure.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The failure of the No. 2 connecting rod due to oil starvation, which resulted in a total loss of engine power.
On November 28, 2013, about 0950 central standard time, a Beech V35, N5655D, operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged during a forced landing to a field in Trussville, Alabama, following a total loss of engine power while on approach to Birmingham International Airport (BHM), Birmingham, Alabama. The airline transport pilot and two passengers received minor injuries. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the planned flight to BHM. The flight departed Norfolk International Airport (ORF), Norfolk, Virginia, about 0620.
The pilot reported that the departure from ORF and cruise flight were uneventful. The airplane was descending toward BHM through 5,400 feet mean sea level (msl), from 6,500 feet msl, when he heard a loud bang and the engine lost all power. The airplane was too far from BHM to glide there and the pilot elected to perform a forced landing in a field.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, during the landing, the airplane collided with a fence and farm equipment, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. Initial examination of the engine revealed a hole in the top of the engine case.
The airplane was equipped with a Continental Motors IO-550B, 300-horsepower engine. The engine was manufactured in 1994 and overhauled in 2004, after accumulating 1,457 hours of operation. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on August 15, 2013. At that time, the engine had accumulated 1,195 hours since overhaul. The airplane flew about 62 hours from the time of the last annual inspection, until the accident.
The engine was subsequently retained and forwarded to the manufacturer's facility for a teardown examination under the supervision of an FAA inspector. The examination revealed evidence of oil starvation at the No. 2 connecting rod, which resulted in its separation from the crankshaft. During the separation, the No. 2 connecting rod punctured a hole in the engine crankcase. The oil tube from the main bearing to the No. 2 connecting rod was clear and unrestricted at the time of inspection. Additionally, the remaining connecting rods did not exhibit signs of oil starvation. Further examination revealed that at some point during the life of the engine, the interior of the rocker covers had been coated with an unapproved material. The coating material had been flaking off during operation and had been cleaned from two of six the rocker covers. The remaining covers still contained the material.
NTSB Identification: ERA14LA052
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, November 28, 2013 in Trussville, AL
Aircraft: BEECH V35, registration: N5655D
Injuries: 3 Minor.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On November 28, 2013, about 0950 central standard time, a Beech V35, N5655D, operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged during a forced landing to a field in Trussville, Alabama, following a total loss of engine power while on approach to Birmingham International Airport (BHM), Birmingham, Alabama. The airline transport pilot and two passengers received minor injuries. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the planned flight to BHM. The flight departed Norfolk International Airport (ORF), Norfolk, Virginia, about 0620.
The pilot reported that the departure from ORF and cruise flight were uneventful. The airplane was descending toward BHM through 5,400 feet mean sea level (msl), from 6,500 feet msl, when he heard a loud bang and the engine lost all power. The airplane was too far from BHM to glide there and the pilot elected to perform a forced landing in a field.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, during the landing, the airplane collided with a fence and farm equipment, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. Initial examination of the engine revealed a hole in the top of the engine case. The engine was retained for further examination.
