What happened
On the night of January 6, 2014, a Cirrus SR22, registration F-HAPH, departed from La Roche-sur-Yon-Les Ajoncs for a flight to Grenoble-Saint-Geoir under IFR conditions. Approximately twenty minutes into the flight, while climbing toward FL 100, the pilot reduced power. Shortly thereafter, the pilot heard loud metallic noises and observed sparks from the engine, followed by a low oil pressure warning and a total engine failure.
Following the failure, the pilot transmitted a Mayday message to Nantes Approach and began a descent toward Mauléon. While flying in IMC conditions, the aircraft emerged from the cloud layer between 2,000 and 3,000 feet. Due to the inability to reach the intended airfield in a glide, the pilot manually activated the aircraft's ballistic recovery system. The aircraft landed in a field, resulting in no injuries to the pilot or the passenger, though the aircraft sustained heavy damage.
The investigation
Investigators examined the wreckage in a field containing hedges and a medium-voltage power line. The impact caused the failure of the nose and main landing gear, and one propeller blade was bent backward.
An inspection of the Teledyne Continental Motors IO-550-N engine revealed a triangular hole in the upper crankcase. This hole was caused by a connecting rod failure; specifically, the rod cap of cylinder number 2 had separated from the rest of the rod. Metal fragments from the cap fasteners were found in the bottom of the crankcase, and the corresponding piston had been crushed.
Findings
- The engine failure was caused by the rupture of the connecting rod head at its attachment point to the crankshaft.
- The pilot's decision to deploy the parachute was considered appropriate given the nighttime conditions and the lack of immediate information regarding available runway lighting at the intended diversion airfield.
- The engine had completed 1,381 hours of total time, with approximately 200 hours since its last major maintenance intervention involving cylinder ring replacement.