CHICKALOON, AK, USA
N4366B
CESSNA 170B
THE PILOT REPORTED THE AIRPLANE'S PROPELLER, PROPELLER FLANGE AND A PORTION OF THE CRANKSHAFT SEPARATED FROM THE AIRPLANE WHILE CRUISING AT AN ALTITUDE OF 6,500' MSL. HE SAID THE ONLY AVAILABLE LANDING SITE WAS A NARROW ROAD, AND THAT HE WAS FORCED BY SURROUNDING TERRAIN TO LAND UPHILL AND DOWNWIND. THE AIRPLANE LANDED HARD, WENT OFF THE ROAD AND INTO A DITCH. THE MISSING PROPELLER AND COMPONENTS WERE NOT RECOVERED.
On May 11, 1995, about 1715 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 170B airplane, N4366B, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing onto Alaska State Highway 1, near Chickaloon, Alaska. The solo private pilot was not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 cross country flight operated in visual meteorological conditions. The flight departed Northway, Alaska, about 1500. The pilot reported that while in cruise flight at 6,500' msl, the engine began to vibrate abruptly, followed almost immediately by a loud noise and the separation of the propeller from the engine. He said the only suitable forced landing area was the highway, and he was forced to land downwind and uphill due to surrounding terrain. The airplane bounced, and went into a ditch adjacent to the highway. The pilot could give no reason why the propeller separated from the engine. In his written statement to the NTSB, he noted that the propeller, the propeller mounting flange, and the forward portion of the crankshaft had separated from the engine and were not recovered.
THE FRACTURE OF THE CRANKSHAFT RESULTING IN SEPARATION OF THE PROPELLER AND PROPELLER FLANGE IN-FLIGHT. A FACTOR ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACCIDENT WAS THE LACK OF SUITABLE TERRAIN FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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