NTSB ATL89LA074 — 1989-01-14 · FLORENCE, South Carolina, United States

N5289Y has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (AEROSTAR INTERNATIONAL INC RX 8, built 2001), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

N5289Y Cessna T210N None

Probable cause & findings

THE FAILURE OF MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL TO PROPERLY TORQUE THE THRU BOLTS DURING NUMBER 2 CYLINDER INSTALLATION. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO THE ACCIDENT WERE TERRAIN FEATURES WHICH LED TO THE COLLAPSE OF THE NOSE GEAR DURING LANDING.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT REPORTED HEARING A KNOCKING SOUND WHILE CLIMBING THROUGH 5000 FT AFTER TKOF. THE KNOCKING WAS FOLLOWED BY A LOUD NOISE AND ENGINE VIBRATION. THE PLT REPORTED THAT HE APPARENTLY HAD LOST A CYLINDER AND OIL PRESSURE WAS DROPPING. HE DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND RECEIVED RADAR VECTORS. AFTER DESCENDING THROUGH CLOUDS, THE PLT REPORTED THAT SMOKE AND FLAMES WERE COMING FROM THE COWLING. THE PLT ELECTED TO MAKE A FORCED LDG IN A SMALL FIELD. ON TOUCHDOWN, THE NOSEGEAR COLLAPSED AND THE ACFT NOSED OVER. EXAM OF THE ENGINE REVEALED TWO BROKEN CONNECTING RODS AND THAT TWO CRANKCASE THROUGHBOLTS WERE UNDERTORQUED. THE CRANKSHAFT MN BRG HAD ROTATED, BLOCKING THE OIL PASSAGE TO THE OTHER CRANKSHAFT BRGS. OVERHEATING OF THE CONNECTING ROD JOURNALS AND BRGS WAS EVIDENT. THE NO 2 CYLINDER HAD BEEN REPLACED JAN 2, 1989, 28 HRS BEFORE THE ACDT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_ATL89LA074.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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