Narrative:

I departed [toward] home in my arrow III. I had [a passenger] and a student pilot with me; and we initially leveled off at 4;500 ft. Coming back over land; the clouds were at our altitude; so we climbed up to 6500 ft; then 8500 ft. Approach was providing VFR advisories. During the final portion of the climb; #3 cylinder was alarming on high cylinder head temperature at 384F on the jpi. This is a lower-than-normal alarm setpoint I had set purposely at 380F; because it didn't see those temperatures very often; usually climb temps are less than 370F. This low set point would call my attention to an unusual temperature earlier than the factory set point of 450F. Selecting the #3 cylinder for view; I began my level off at 8;500 ft and waited for the temperature to go down. It didn't. After picking up 20 knots from the level-off; the #3 cylinder cht had climbed to 396F; while the other cylinders were cooling down past 360F. This was not normal. By the time I had gathered this information; the engine began a soft; but noticeable vibration. The engine vibration; coupled with the abnormal cylinder temperature; made it perfectly clear- I was losing a cylinder; and it was only going to get worse. It had been about 20 seconds since I leveled at 8;500 ft.I've made 3 laminated checklists for the arrow; and there is an identical set for both front seats- yellow; for the preflight; green; for in-flight procedures; and red; for emergency procedures. I pulled this last one and put it on my knee board; then keyed the mike. 'Approach; [callsign] declaring an emergency at this time; standby.' a few seconds went by until I heard; '[callsign]; approach; I'm ready to hear you when you're ready.' I had already started my memory items for an engine power loss or reduction: aviate to best-glide speed: I was making enough power to hold altitude; so I didn't touch the engine controls just yet. Then; navigate to the closest field: I checked the GPS to confirm that my options were a 3;000 ft non-towered strip directly below me; ZZZ at 7NM northeast and ZZZ1 8 nm beyond that. I rejected the 3;000 ft strip below me as unnecessary- ZZZ1 was easily achievable with engine power and ZZZ was within gliding distance; despite it currently being under a tfr for airshow practice. A non-towered airport wouldn't likely have crash trucks; and may not have a repair facility; whereas ZZZ1 should have both. Plus; spiraling down to an airport 8;000 ft below me for an accuracy landing on a shorter strip is fine for checkrides; but a poor life choice when better alternatives are available. In case I couldn't make ZZZ1; ZZZ was in my back pocket. I put direct ZZZ1 in the GPS and made my turn. Then; fix or fly: since I was above traffic pattern altitude; I had enough time to attempt to 'fix' the problem. I ran the checklist items: switch the fuel tanks; fuel pump on; mixture rich; prop forward...whoa; that's a lot of vibration; back to 2100; alternate air open; mags on both. Then; check engine instruments. All good; notably; fuel pressure; oil pressure; and oil temperature all appeared normal. I looked at #3 cylinder again; this time the egt was 1100F and falling (compared to 1300F); while cht was 375F and falling slowly (compared to 310F). Communicate: at this point; I filled ATC in on what was happening- engine vibrations; loss of a cylinder; some engine power available; going to ZZZ1; 3 souls on board and 3 hours of fuel. Immediately they started clearing the path between me and ZZZ1; including their whole approach corridor of jets. I checked in with my passengers; filled them in on my plans; and asked them to ensure their seat belts were on. I started a very slow descent for ZZZ1 about 13 nm out. I kept the engine at 2100 RPM; and varied the manifold pressure to attempt to ease the vibrations; which didn't work. I wasn't going to move the prop control again. I returned the mp to 23' and left it there. ZZZ1 was 8 nm in front of me; and seemed like a sure shot if everything held together another 4 minutes. When ATC had asked if I needed any fire trucks on the ground; I declined. While I wasn't in gliding distance of ZZZ1 yet; this looked like a stable place to be; and continued on. Another few minutes went by; after which I became certain that the engine was further deteriorating. Approach handed me off to ZZZ1 tower; but before I could swap frequencies; the engine vibrations escalated into a violent shaking that shuddered the whole airframe. I pulled fully back on the throttle and prop controls and turned toward ZZZ. Telling approach of my sudden change of plans; they handed me off to ZZZ tower with a quick read-off of their ATIS. Before I contacted ZZZ tower; I evaluated the plane's new characteristics- it was violently shaking against the engine mounts; despite the throttle and prop being fully aft. A cylinder; presumably #3; was no longer attached to the block. Thinking that the fuel injector line to that cylinder could be ruptured; I pulled the mixture to idle-cutoff and committed to a full power-off landing. Even for this recent diversion; I was high and well within power-off gliding distance. I checked in with tower; reiterated my emergency and asked for them to roll trucks. Lining up on a two mile-final; the engine seized without warning; and I was staring at the back of a propeller blade that had stopped in the 10 o'clock position. I reported the engine seizure to the tower and continued my approach. Still high; I was waiting until I could be sure of making the runway to lower the landing gear (tower had told me twice that it was up). With 3/4 of a mile to the runway; I lowered the landing gear; pulled in full flaps; and initiated a forward slip to dissipate excess energy. I managed a smooth touchdown and coasted off the runway onto the taxiway. I kept rolling until the tower told me to stop; which was right in front of all the fire trucks I'd asked for 3 minutes earlier. Lessons learned: 1. Knowing the equipment: by setting the jpi to a lower alarm value of cht and being alerted to an abnormal temperature early on; I was able to watch the cylinder failure unfold in front of me on the jpi. This helped me accept the reality of the situation without hesitation when the engine vibration started. 2. Declaring the emergency early only helped: it helped me commit to the reality of the situation; it helped the controller size-up his workload and call in assistance; and it helped the other pilots on the frequency to keep their communications clear and concise. 3. Well-practiced memory items: while I use 'aviate; navigate; fix or fly; communicate' as my engine failure memory aid; I was proficient in doing this correctly and methodically through practice and instruction. 4. Color-coded checklists: surprisingly useful; having these color-coded meant I could get the right checklist without having to read any portion of it to verify it was the one I wanted. In addition; I've printed it out in large enough font that it's easy to read under most circumstances. 5. Do what you need to do: from my airline days; they don't train you to ask controllers for something during an emergency- you tell them what you are going to do; and they will clear that path; get you that info; or make it happen. 6. The forward slip to a landing is your best friend! Without it; I would have landed in the water on the other side of the runway. 7. Aircraft familiarity: I am very experienced in this airplane; and have spent many hours just exploring it's habits. I've taken it flying just to practice power-off landings; try out gear up and gear down glides; and keep current on pilot fundamentals. This paid dividends when the engine seized on final and I was well-established for reaching the runway; knowing how the plane handled in that situation and configuration. 8. Crash trucks: call them early.... It takes time to get them suited up and rolled to the runway; so I've got to call them as soon as I can to have them ready to go. Any engine or landing gear problem should automatically trigger crash trucks in your mind. This should be the easiest; earliest; most conservative decision to make because it costs you nothing; and is absolutely free insurance.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA-28 pilot experienced high cylinder head temperature followed by engine vibration in cruise flight. He declared an emergency and made a successful engine out landing at a nearby airfield.

Narrative: I departed [toward] home in my Arrow III. I had [a passenger] and a student pilot with me; and we initially leveled off at 4;500 FT. Coming back over land; the clouds were at our altitude; so we climbed up to 6500 FT; then 8500 FT. Approach was providing VFR advisories. During the final portion of the climb; #3 cylinder was alarming on high Cylinder Head Temperature at 384F on the JPI. This is a lower-than-normal alarm setpoint I had set purposely at 380F; because it didn't see those temperatures very often; usually climb temps are less than 370F. This low set point would call my attention to an unusual temperature earlier than the factory set point of 450F. Selecting the #3 cylinder for view; I began my level off at 8;500 FT and waited for the temperature to go down. It didn't. After picking up 20 knots from the level-off; the #3 cylinder CHT had climbed to 396F; while the other cylinders were cooling down past 360F. This was not normal. By the time I had gathered this information; the engine began a soft; but noticeable vibration. The engine vibration; coupled with the abnormal cylinder temperature; made it perfectly clear- I was losing a cylinder; and it was only going to get worse. It had been about 20 seconds since I leveled at 8;500 FT.I've made 3 laminated checklists for the Arrow; and there is an identical set for both front seats- Yellow; for the Preflight; Green; for In-Flight Procedures; and Red; for Emergency Procedures. I pulled this last one and put it on my knee board; then keyed the mike. 'Approach; [Callsign] declaring an emergency at this time; standby.' A few seconds went by until I heard; '[Callsign]; Approach; I'm ready to hear you when you're ready.' I had already started my memory items for an engine Power Loss or Reduction: Aviate to Best-Glide Speed: I was making enough power to hold altitude; so I didn't touch the engine controls just yet. Then; Navigate to the closest field: I checked the GPS to confirm that my options were a 3;000 FT non-towered strip directly below me; ZZZ at 7NM northeast and ZZZ1 8 nm beyond that. I rejected the 3;000 FT strip below me as unnecessary- ZZZ1 was easily achievable with engine power and ZZZ was within gliding distance; despite it currently being under a TFR for airshow practice. A non-towered airport wouldn't likely have crash trucks; and may not have a repair facility; whereas ZZZ1 should have both. Plus; spiraling down to an airport 8;000 FT below me for an accuracy landing on a shorter strip is fine for checkrides; but a poor life choice when better alternatives are available. In case I couldn't make ZZZ1; ZZZ was in my back pocket. I put direct ZZZ1 in the GPS and made my turn. Then; Fix or Fly: Since I was above Traffic Pattern Altitude; I had enough time to attempt to 'fix' the problem. I ran the checklist items: Switch the fuel tanks; Fuel Pump on; Mixture rich; Prop forward...whoa; that's a lot of vibration; back to 2100; Alternate Air open; Mags on both. Then; check engine instruments. All good; notably; fuel pressure; oil pressure; and oil temperature all appeared normal. I looked at #3 cylinder again; this time the EGT was 1100F and falling (compared to 1300F); while CHT was 375F and falling slowly (compared to 310F). Communicate: At this point; I filled ATC in on what was happening- engine vibrations; loss of a cylinder; some engine power available; going to ZZZ1; 3 souls on board and 3 hours of fuel. Immediately they started clearing the path between me and ZZZ1; including their whole approach corridor of jets. I checked in with my passengers; filled them in on my plans; and asked them to ensure their seat belts were on. I started a very slow descent for ZZZ1 about 13 nm out. I kept the engine at 2100 RPM; and varied the manifold pressure to attempt to ease the vibrations; which didn't work. I wasn't going to move the prop control again. I returned the MP to 23' and left it there. ZZZ1 was 8 nm in front of me; and seemed like a sure shot if everything held together another 4 minutes. When ATC had asked if I needed any fire trucks on the ground; I declined. While I wasn't in gliding distance of ZZZ1 yet; this looked like a stable place to be; and continued on. Another few minutes went by; after which I became certain that the engine was further deteriorating. Approach handed me off to ZZZ1 Tower; but before I could swap frequencies; the engine vibrations escalated into a violent shaking that shuddered the whole airframe. I pulled fully back on the throttle and prop controls and turned toward ZZZ. Telling Approach of my sudden change of plans; they handed me off to ZZZ Tower with a quick read-off of their ATIS. Before I contacted ZZZ Tower; I evaluated the plane's new characteristics- it was violently shaking against the engine mounts; despite the throttle and prop being fully aft. A cylinder; presumably #3; was no longer attached to the block. Thinking that the fuel injector line to that cylinder could be ruptured; I pulled the mixture to Idle-Cutoff and committed to a full power-off landing. Even for this recent diversion; I was high and well within power-off gliding distance. I checked in with Tower; reiterated my emergency and asked for them to roll trucks. Lining up on a two mile-final; the engine seized without warning; and I was staring at the back of a propeller blade that had stopped in the 10 o'clock position. I reported the engine seizure to the tower and continued my approach. Still high; I was waiting until I could be sure of making the runway to lower the landing gear (tower had told me twice that it was up). With 3/4 of a mile to the runway; I lowered the landing gear; pulled in full flaps; and initiated a forward slip to dissipate excess energy. I managed a smooth touchdown and coasted off the runway onto the taxiway. I kept rolling until the Tower told me to stop; which was right in front of all the fire trucks I'd asked for 3 minutes earlier. Lessons Learned: 1. Knowing the equipment: By setting the JPI to a lower alarm value of CHT and being alerted to an abnormal temperature early on; I was able to watch the cylinder failure unfold in front of me on the JPI. This helped me accept the reality of the situation without hesitation when the engine vibration started. 2. Declaring the emergency early only helped: It helped me commit to the reality of the situation; it helped the Controller size-up his workload and call in assistance; and it helped the other pilots on the frequency to keep their communications clear and concise. 3. Well-practiced memory items: While I use 'Aviate; Navigate; Fix or Fly; Communicate' as my engine failure memory aid; I was proficient in doing this correctly and methodically through practice and instruction. 4. Color-Coded Checklists: Surprisingly useful; having these color-coded meant I could get the right checklist without having to read any portion of it to verify it was the one I wanted. In addition; I've printed it out in large enough font that it's easy to read under most circumstances. 5. Do what you need to do: From my airline days; they don't train you to ask controllers for something during an emergency- you tell them what you are going to do; and they will clear that path; get you that info; or make it happen. 6. The forward slip to a landing is your best friend! Without it; I would have landed in the water on the other side of the runway. 7. Aircraft familiarity: I am very experienced in this airplane; and have spent many hours just exploring it's habits. I've taken it flying just to practice power-off landings; try out gear up and gear down glides; and keep current on pilot fundamentals. This paid dividends when the engine seized on final and I was well-established for reaching the runway; knowing how the plane handled in that situation and configuration. 8. Crash Trucks: Call them early.... It takes time to get them suited up and rolled to the runway; so I've got to call them as soon as I can to have them ready to go. Any engine or landing gear problem should automatically trigger crash trucks in your mind. This should be the easiest; earliest; most conservative decision to make because it costs you nothing; and is absolutely FREE insurance.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.