Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 150; Flight Crew Total 15000; Flight Crew Type 500
Troubleshooting
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance
Flight Crew Diverted; Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
Departed and was in slow climb/cruise. Could hear what I thought was an unusual noise. Removed ANR headset; put it back on; I thought maybe-maybe not-not sure. Just had sense something wasn't right (gut). I fly this particular regularly. Scanned all instrumentation. Engine has a chip detector. Moved throttle; prop and mixture. I could find nothing amiss. Shortly thereafter-severe vibration; total loss of power; oil on windshield. Knew ZZZ airport immediately behind me- initiated return to ZZZ. Total time from thinking something was wrong to failure was about 2 minutes. I came up with that time based on I knew where I was when I detected something to where I was when failure occurred and I knew my ground speed. So that time estimate is not a guess. Landed successfully on all three tires at ZZZ. Examination revealed failure of connecting rod bolt on #2 cylinder. Not sure how that could have been discovered prior to flight; engine was well maintained and well within TBO limits. Human Factors- experience and training played out well. I always try to have some kind of an idea of where to go in such an event. I try to fly to minimize risk of off airport landings; whether that be by altitude or route. 6 miles 140 kts. Startle factor- I failed to set up best glide as quickly as I had wished. While I was pretty sure I had good margin to get back to ZZZ that was not confirmed until I completed the 180 turn to get headed back to the field. A glance at the airspeed at that point was when I realized I had not yet established best glide.
Bonanza pilot reported an engine failure resulting in a forced landing.