Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Duck Creek, Utah 84762
Friday, September 18, 1998 14:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was in cruise flight at 12,500 feet when the pilot noticed the manifold pressure had dropped from 51.8 inches to 25 inches. 'The engine had poor response to throttle movement, and the engine sounded bad when I moved the throttle.' He made the decision not to proceed further due to the remote terrain. As he checked his maps for the nearest airport, the airplane lost altitude. 'The engine did not seem to have much power, and I was about 3,000 feet AGL by this time.' The pilot made a forced landing on a dirt road. During rollout the aircraft struck poles alongside of a cattle guard. According to the salvage company and the FAA inspector who examined the engine, two of the four screws securing the rocker cover on the number 3 cylinder were missing, and oil was leaking out. The rocker cover had a round indention on the outside, and a wear mark on the inside. The exhaust rocker arm studs were also loose. The rear stud was only finger tight. Aluminum was found imbedded in its threads. The front stud was loose, but its nut locking mechanism was still in place.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Loose intake valve rocker arm studs that allowed a loss of compression and a loss of oil. A factor was unsuitable terrain on which to make a forced landing and poles next to a cattle guard.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/18/1998
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City DUCK CREEK
Event State UTAH
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 84762
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Unknown
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 250
Weather Observation Facility ID CDC
Elevation of weather observation facility 5623
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 41
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 23
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 30
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 8258
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 776
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 19 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1029
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:46AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8252S
NTSB Number FTW98LA404
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28RT-201T
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-28RT-20
Aircraft Serial Number 28R8031170
Certified Max Gross Weight 2900
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jul 24 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 43
Airframe Hours 4792
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name B-Y ENTERPRISES, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 7821 S. LOGAN ST.
Aircraft Owner City LITTLETON
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 80122
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name WINGS OF DENVER FLYING CLUB
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 7625 S. PEORIA ST., BOX 10
Operator City ENGLEWOOD
Operator State CO
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 80112
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code CNY
Departure City MOAB
Departure State UT
Departure Country
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code VGT
Destination City LAS VEGAS
Destination State NV
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --