CHI00LA085 · Cessna 210

A Cessna 210 sustained substantial damage on impact with rough terrain during a forced landing following an in-flight loss of power. The pilot rated passenger reported minor injuries and the pilot was uninjured. A bank repossessed the airplane. The bank was informed that the engine was reportedly making metal. The bank's broker requested a ferry permit from the FAA for being out of annual only. An aircraft purchase agreement was completed between the bank, the aircraft broker, and the pilot rated passenger for the buyer of record. The agreement stated, 'Aircraft sold as-is, where is.' The bank's representative said that no representations were made to the purchasers, that no reports of the airplane status were passed on to the purchasers, and that the ferry permit was faxed to his location. A special flight permit limitation stated that '1. Carriage of persons other than essential crewmembers is prohibited.' The accident pilot said that his medical certificate had been expired at the time of the accident. The pilot rated passenger was an Airframe and Powerplant mechanic. The passenger endorsed the airplane's logbook, 'I have inspected this aircraft [and] found it to be airworthy for a one time ferry flight in accordance with this ferry permit.' The accident engine was examined and found to have a hole in its case near the number two cylinder. Disassembly revealed silver colored and silver and copper colored debris in the oil sump pan. The oil screen assembly was found secured by twisted safety wire. That safety wire was coated with oil like substance and a dust like substance was found adhering those twists. The screen and oil cooler contained debris. The crankshaft's cheek was found separated between the number two connecting rod and the number two main bearing. The cheek was discolored and deformed. The number two main bearing was found with its left half not in place. The aft crankshaft section was sent to the Materials Laboratory for detailed examination. The lab report stated, 'Fracture features for the fatigue region emanated from multiple origins on the surface of the aft radius of the second main journal, with primary initiation approximately in the center of the origin area. The boundary of the fatigue region was obliterated by mechanical damage. The surface of the aft second main journal cheek radius was scored and burnished. Ladder cracks were also observed in the cheek radius.'

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset