Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Georgetown, California 95634
Sunday, February 4, 2001 16:05 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

An off-airport emergency landing followed loss of engine power over mountainous terrain. The pilot reported that the engine of the amateur built aircraft lost power while in cruise flight, and, although there was oil pressure, eventually seized before the landing. During the landing in a forest clear cut area, the landing gear impacted a tree trunk and the aircraft nosed over. Post accident disassembly of the engine revealed that the crankshaft separated at the crankshaft cheek between the number 3 and 4 throws. The owner reported he assembled the (experimental) engine himself using Lycoming parts, and that the engine had accumulated 631 flight hours since assembly. The owner was not a certificated powerplant mechanic.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The total loss of engine power due to fracture and separation of the engine crankshaft.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/4/2001
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1605
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Georgetown
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95634
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 2
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 Off Airport/Airstrip
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 1555 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID BAB
Elevation of weather observation facility 113
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 30
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 2
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.21
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 10942
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Feb 4 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1859
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Nov 6 2001 9:00AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Sacramento, CA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1198N
NTSB Number LAX01LA088
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Fish
Aircraft Model RV6
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 20540
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Nov 27 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 106
Airframe Hours 1081
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Yes
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Dwain E. Fish
Aircraft Owner Street Address 8693 Atwater Jordan Rd.
Aircraft Owner City Atwater
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95301
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 BO8
Departure City Silver Springs
Departure State NV
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MER
Destination City Atwater
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Oct 22 2001 11:43AM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --