NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ATL01FA040
Registry · N842MB
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
LEARJET INC 45
Year of manufacture
2001 · 0 years old at event
Engine
AIRESEARCH TFE731 SER
Seats / Engines
12 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date
20010827
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AB885C
Registrant of record
MED AIR LLC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The failure and separation of No.12 cylinder from the engine case that resulted in an in-flight oil fed fire; and the subsequent separation of the right engine from airframe.
Factual narrative
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On March 15, 2001, at 2130 eastern standard time, a DC-3, N842MB, experienced an in-flight engine fire, and made a forced landing at Donalsonville Municipal Airport, Georgia, following the separation of the right engine assembly from the airframe. The cargo flight was operated by Jim Hankins Air Service, Inc. under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 135, with an instrument flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane received substantial damage, and the pilot and co-pilot were not injured. The flight originated from Panama City, Florida, at 1950. According to the pilot, during cruise flight at 5000 feet, he heard a loud "Bang". The pilot then stated that he saw a reflection of fire on his left engine nacelle. The co-pilot stated that they had an engine fire on the right engine. The pilot commenced engine shut down procedures. When the pilot attempted to feather the propeller, the propeller did not feather. When the pilot pulled the extinguishing agent for the right engine, the engine separated from the aircraft. The airplane then lost hydraulic pressure. The pilot established visual contact with Donalsonville Municipal Airport, and made an emergency landing on runway 18 without further incident.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The pilot held an airline transport certificate with airplane single and multi-engine land, instrument ratings. His total flight time was 6000 hours, with 700 hours in the DC-3. The pilot held a current first class medical certificate, dated July 25, 2000, with no waivers or limitations.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The DC-3, N842MB, was owned and operated by Jim Hawkins Air Service Inc., of Jackson, Mississippi. N842MB was a low-wing airplane powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-1530-90D, 1200 horsepower engines. A review of the airplanes maintenance logbooks showed the last maintenance inspection was completed on March 1, 2001.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
The Albany weather observation reported 10 statute miles visibility, wind 230 at 12 knots, temperature 24, dew point 7, and the sky was clear.
AIRPORT INFORMATION
Donalsonville Municipal Airport has one paved runway: 18/36. At the time of the accident, runway 18 was used for the forced landing.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
Examination of the airplane revealed the right engine and nacelle separated forward from the leading edge of the right wing. Evidence of fire damage was found on the trailing edge of the wing and landing gear. The right engine was found 10 miles southwest of Donalsonville Municipal Airport, in the backyard of a farmer's home. The engine examination also showed that No. 12 cylinder had failed and separated from the main case, and the No. 12 connecting rod was bent and fractured at the piston pin. Evidence of oil from the No. 12 cylinder was found across engine and exhaust systems, and evidence of fire was observed along the trail of engine oil. Further examination revealed Nos.7, 8 and 9 cylinders had also separated from the engine case. The engine had seized, and efforts to rotate the engine during the post accident examination failed. The review of the engine maintenance logs showed that the right engine was approximately 506 hours out of the last overhaul.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The airplane wreckage was released on May 08, 2001 to Bill Blankenship, insurance adjuster, Ormond Beach, Florida. The DC-3 experienced an in-flight engine fire, and made a forced landing at nearby airport, following the separation of the right engine assembly from the airframe. According to the pilot, during cruise flight, at 5000 feet, he heard a loud "bang" and saw a reflection of fire on his left engine nacelle. Fire damage was found on the trailing edge of the right wing and on the landing gear assembly. The engine examination also showed that No. 12 cylinder had separated from the main case. Evidence of oil from the No. 12 cylinder was found across engine and exhaust systems. Further examination revealed Nos. 7, 8 and 9 cylinders also failed and separated, and the engine seized and separated from the airframe. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2001_ATL01FA040.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.
Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (maintenance). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2026 · Journal article (IJAAA)
From Reactive to Predictive: A hybrid Trust-Mediated Adoption Framework for Data-Driven Maintenance in Distributed-Authority Aviation Environments
Modern aviation maintenance operates within increasingly data-intensive technological environments, yet the operational integration of predictive maintenance into routine decision-making remains incon…
- Semantic Scholar 2025 · Article (Applied Sciences)
Decision-Making Framework for Aviation Safety in Predictive Maintenance Strategies
The implementation of predictive maintenance (PM) in aviation presents unique challenges due to strict safety requirements, complex operational environments, and regulatory constraints.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (JAAER)
Low-Resource Automatic Speech Recognition Domain Adaptation – A Case-Study in Aviation Maintenance
With timeliness and efficiency being critical in the aviation maintenance industry, the need has been growing for smart technological solutions that optimize and streamline the different underlying ta…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (JAAER)
A New Trajectory in UAV Safety: Leveraging Reinforcement Learning for Distance Maintenance Under Wind Variations
In the field of aviation, safety is a critical cornerstone, and the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems is deeply connected with this principle.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Just Culture in Aviation: A Metaphorical Study on Aircraft Maintenance Students
Just Culture, a sub-dimension of safety culture, has been a prominent and debated topic in aviation safety in recent years.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Performance PRISM: A Comprehensive Framework For Performance Measurement In Aircraft Maintenance
Aircraft maintenance is governed by rigorous safety requirements and high operational complexity, demanding robust performance measurement frameworks to ensure optimal maintenance practices.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗