Pilot Uninjured and Executes Successful On-Airport Landing
The powerplant
difficulties experienced by Textron-Lycoming and more importantly,
its customers, continue. After a series of expensive and worrisome
ADs have created havoc for Lycoming owners across the globe,
problems continue to be reported... with a particularly dramatic
addition having occurred Tuesday during the takeoff of a fairly new
Cessna 172S.
A pilot reportedly engaged in a student training operation was
in the process of an extended takeoff from the long runway at St.
Augustine, FL, when the improbable occurred, Tuesday afternoon. The
Cessna 172S, with a reported 300 hours on the airframe, experienced
a loss of the prop and the forward part of the crankshaft,
separating just aft of the crankshaft flange. Despite the dramatic
loss of thrust, a resultant change in CG, and a surprisingly small
amount of airframe damage; N1130T executed a safe landing on the
airport on an adjacent portion of the field. According to sources
at St. Augustine, this was possible as a result of the pilot
(wisely) selecting a full-length departure on Rwy 13/31 rather than
an intersection departure. The prop was found on SGJ's Rwy
13/31.
A valued ANN News-Spy sent us pictures of the aircraft and the
evidence we've seen so far clearly shows a fairly clean separation
at the flange point. N1130T was a Garmin G1000-equipped Skyhawk
Model 172S aircraft, powered by a Textron Lycoming IO-360-L2A
engine, and equipped with a McCauley propeller. The aircraft
belongs to a Florida corporation and was being operated by Epic
Aviation, which did not return a number of ANN's phone calls placed
to that organization in order to get more information about the
incident. Calls to Lycoming are yet to be returned, as well.
We'll have more information as circumstances warrant. (ANN
Thanks the many News-Spies who came forward to fill us in on some
of the details surrounding this story -- you folks rock!)
** Report created 5/24/2006 Record 1 **
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 1130T Make/Model: C172 Description: 172, P172, R172,
Skyhawk, Hawk XP, Cutla
Date: 05/23/2006 Time: 1658
Event Type: Incident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Unknown
LOCATION
City: SAINT AUGUSTINE State: FL Country: US
DESCRIPTION
ACFT ON DEPARTURE, ENGINE FAILED, LOST THE PROP, AND LANDED SAFELY,
SAINT AUGUSTINE, FL
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 1 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
WEATHER: NOT REPORTED
OTHER DATA
Departed: Dep Date: Dep. Time:
Destination: Flt Plan: Wx Briefing:
Last Radio Cont: Last Clearance:
FAA FSDO: ORLANDO, FL (SO15) Entry date: 05/24/2006