Addison - Addison

Aircraft was destroyed when it struck power lines and the ground during a single engine go-around. Following a left engine shut down due to severe vibrations, the pilot overflew one airport to return to his home base. En route, he elected not to go to full power due to a 3 minutes limitation he did not want to exceed. The pilot overshot the runway while manually extending the nose gear and elected to attempt a right 270° turn to return to final while at 100-150 feet agl. Nose landing did not extend due to hydraulic pump being on left engine and no pressure. During the turn, the pilot lost control and the aircraft struck the wires. Investigation revealed that one of the blade pitch change links on the left prop had disconnected, allowing one blade to free float. The link pin assembly had backed out as a result of the safety screw backing out due to damaged and stripped threads and an improper length screw being installed. Props had 1/4' safety screws installed instead of 3/8'.

Flight / Schedule

Addison - Addison

Registration

N4164B

MSN

520-69

Year of Manufacture

1953

Date

July 27, 1987 at 11:01 AM

Type

CRASH

Flight Type

Training

Flight Phase

Landing (descent or approach)

Crash Site

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Crash Location

Addison Texas

Region

North America • United States of America

Coordinates

32.9601°, -96.8300°

Crash Cause

Technical failure

Narrative Report

On July 27, 1987 at 11:01 AM, Addison - Addison experienced a crash involving Rockwell Aero Commander 520, operated by James L. Leverenz, with the event recorded near Addison Texas.

The flight was categorized as training and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

2 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 2 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 1, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 1, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. Aircraft was destroyed when it struck power lines and the ground during a single engine go-around. Following a left engine shut down due to severe vibrations, the pilot overflew one airport to return to his home base. En route, he elected not to go to full power due to a 3 minutes limitation he did not want to exceed. The pilot overshot the runway while manually extending the nose gear and elected to attempt a right 270° turn to return to final while at 100-150 feet agl. Nose landing did not extend due to hydraulic pump being on left engine and no pressure. During the turn, the pilot lost control and the aircraft struck the wires. Investigation revealed that one of the blade pitch change links on the left prop had disconnected, allowing one blade to free float. The link pin assembly had backed out as a result of the safety screw backing out due to damaged and stripped threads and an improper length screw being installed. Props had 1/4' safety screws installed instead of 3/8'.

Aircraft reference details include registration N4164B, MSN 520-69, year of manufacture 1953.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 32.9601°, -96.8300°.

Fatalities

Total

0

Crew

0

Passengers

0

Other

0

Crash Summary

Aircraft was destroyed when it struck power lines and the ground during a single engine go-around. Following a left engine shut down due to severe vibrations, the pilot overflew one airport to return to his home base. En route, he elected not to go to full power due to a 3 minutes limitation he did not want to exceed. The pilot overshot the runway while manually extending the nose gear and elected to attempt a right 270° turn to return to final while at 100-150 feet agl. Nose landing did not extend due to hydraulic pump being on left engine and no pressure. During the turn, the pilot lost control and the aircraft struck the wires. Investigation revealed that one of the blade pitch change links on the left prop had disconnected, allowing one blade to free float. The link pin assembly had backed out as a result of the safety screw backing out due to damaged and stripped threads and an improper length screw being installed. Props had 1/4' safety screws installed instead of 3/8'.

Cause: Technical failure

Occupants & Outcome

Crew On Board

1

Passengers On Board

1

Estimated Survivors

2

Fatality Rate

0.0%

Known people on board: 2

Operational Details

Schedule / Flight

Addison - Addison

Flight Type

Training

Flight Phase

Landing (descent or approach)

Crash Site

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Region / Country

North America • United States of America

Aircraft Details

Registration

N4164B

MSN

520-69

Year of Manufacture

1953