Perry Mick wrote:

Seems like I'm always reading these stories.  These engines can't
be as reliable as everyone thinks they are:

TCM SEARCHES FOR CLUES IN SR20 ENGINE FAILURE...
Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM) is hard at work trying to figure out
what caused a "catastrophic engine failure" on a Cirrus Design SR20
delivered to its new owner, Windy City Flyers at Palwaukee (Ill.)
Municipal Airport, on January 8.  As reported by AVweb, Dean Ellis,
president of the Windy City Flyers, was at the controls of N5841 when
the TCM IO-360-ES engine stopped.  He managed to deadstick the SR20 to a

safe landing in a cornfield near Round Lake, Ill., with little damage to

the airplane.

...BY DOING THE DETECTIVE WORK
Ellis tells AVweb the TCM analyst working on the problem believes the
crankshaft failed at its rearmost throw, one of the crank's most highly
stressed areas.  Since the prop windmilled all the way to the ground,
the two pieces of the crankshaft ground together, making it difficult to

determine exactly how the shaft failed.  Cirrus Design spokesman Chris
Maddy tells AVweb that letters have gone out to the owners of the 12
other SR20s in the field.
--
Perry J. Mick
Mick Duckt N7XR
http://www.mickaircraft.com/duckt.htm

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