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Airplane Connecting Rod Crashes Through Roof
“We got to around 1,500 feet and we heard a loud bang and the plane started shaking,” said Rick Eason, faculty adviser for the University Flying Club in Orono, who took off with the pilot at around 7:25 p.m. After the two made a safe emergency landing at Bangor International Airport, Eason said he was soon contacted by the airport’s control tower, “and they asked if I lost something from my plane.” As Eason soon figured out by comparing data from his GPS device with the time of the incident, as… (bangordailynews.com) Altro...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Well I'll say that engine is probably junk now if the pin went through the side of the engine....if it went through the oil pan they might be able to safe it depending on the internal damage.
I'd say you are probably right. what is amazing that the engine apparently kept running and they were able to land without having to deadstick.lol.
Guessing that the head let go due to some internal issue, piston came free and the wrist pin escaped out the side of the piston. The 3 cyl C172 then continued and landed with a 25%+ power reduction.
You are probaly correct in that I can't see another way for a wrist pin to escape basically intact but I think you are being kind with a 25%+ power reduction.lol It just don't seem like it was a real big deal to him though. He's either a super cool CFI or totally carefree. At least they got it to the ground.lol
It's more than 25%, those 'still working' pistons are having to not only move the crank shaft for it's normal duty, they're also having to spend energy moving the remaining parts of the dead cylinder that once was doing the work itself.
From years of auto racing failure analysis experience, an ejected wrist pin is almost always from a piston failure. On a highly undersquare (small bore / long strokw engine like this the small end of the rod can bounce up and down for a while without poking holes in the cylinder wall. Especially in an air cooled engine with no water jackets.
Not a fun thing to have happen in any event. Good job by the PIC.
Not a fun thing to have happen in any event. Good job by the PIC.
Root cause is usually prolonged detonation. Pinch a ring land lose combustion seal, burn away the area above the pin boss and..... boom.