Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Southern Pines, North Carolina 28387
Sunday, November 18, 2001 13:24 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that prior to takeoff he added 1.2 quarts of oil to fill the engine oil tank and then did a short test flight over his home airport. After the test flight he found no evidence of engine oil leakage from the engine. At 1250 he departed Parkton for Southern Pines. When about 10 miles from the Southern Pines Airport, the engine began to run rough. He continued toward the airport. The engine oil temperature began to climb and the engine oil pressure began to drop. The engine lost power and they could not make it to the airport. While making a forced landing on a golf course, the left wing collided with a tree and the airplane descended and collided with the ground. Postcrash examination of the airplane by an FAA Inspector showed the propeller had damage consistent with very slow rotational speed at ground impact. The engine cowling and bottom side of the engine had oil spray on it. The engine oil tank contained no oil. Examination of the engine by an FAA Inspector at an engine overhaul facility showed the front crankshaft seal was dislodged and allowed oil to escape from the engine at a substantial rate when the engine oil system was pressurized. No obstructions in the engine case vent system were found that would have caused over pressurization of the engine case. The reason for the dislodge crankshaft seal was not determined.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The dislodging of the front crankshaft oil seal for undetermined reasons resulting in loss of engine oil, loss of engine power, and collision with a tree and then the ground during a forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/18/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1324 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Southern Pines |
| Event State | NORTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 28387 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 351413N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0792329W |
| 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 | 1315 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 270 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SOP |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 461 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 3 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| 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) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 50 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.36 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 300 |
| 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) | 11518 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ATL. Comm. Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 18 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1510 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 20 2002 1:46PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Greensboro |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N99236 |
| NTSB Number | MIA02LA021 |
| 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 | Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp.) |
| Aircraft Model | 415-C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1859 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1400 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 1 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 63 |
| Airframe Hours | 2826 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Benjamin E. Lefever |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 516 Hilliard Dr. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Fayetteville |
| Aircraft Owner State | NC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 28311 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | William K. Johnson |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 391 Little Marsh Road |
| Operator City | Parkton |
| Operator State | NC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 28371 |
| 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 | 35W |
| Departure City | Parkton |
| Departure State | NC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1250 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | SOP |
| Destination City | Sothern Pines |
| Destination State | NC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | Yes |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 29 2002 3:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |