Cessna 182Q accident near Rising Sun, Maryland, June 21, 1999
On June 21, 1999 at about 1:44 am local time, a Cessna 182Q, registered N937FB, was destroyed in an accident near Rising Sun, Maryland. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the connecting rod end bolts, due to an overtemperature condition.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 21, 1999 · about 1:44 am local time
- Place
- Rising Sun, Maryland · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182Q · all 182Qs on the register
- Registration
- N937FB · no longer on the register · serial 18267142
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was in level flight at 4,000 feet, on a dark night, in instrument conditions, when the engine lost all power. The pilot performed a forced landing to a river. When the engine was examined, two holes were observed on the top of the engine crankcase. The heads of three connecting rod bolts and portions of a connecting rod bearing were recovered from the bottom of the oil sump pan. All of the main bearings, with the exception of the number four and five main bearings, exhibited accelerated wear and were blackened from heat stress. The number four and five cylinder connecting rod end caps and five connecting rod bolts were forwarded to the Safety Board Materials Lab. All five of the bolts exhibited severe necking at the fracture and deformation in the shafts. The large amount of deformation and necking was consistent with a single deformation event that occurred at a high temperature. The connecting rod caps exhibited similar characteristics, a gross amount of deformation, but with a lack of fracture. This was consistent with deformation at a high temperature. The engine had bee remanufactured about 9 years and 941 hours prior to the accident.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 17,410 hours in all; 850 in this make and model; 125 in the last 90 days; 45 in the last 30 days; 17,345 as pilot in command; 16,540 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,084 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 1, 1998; 45 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-U (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LDJ Linden NJ at 10:45 pm
- Destination: GAI Gaithersburg MD
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 060° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,100 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:51 am from ILG, 26 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.