Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Charleston International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Charleston, South Carolina 29405
Thursday, May 23, 2002 18:35 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During climb through 3300 feet mean sea level, the engine lost power. During emergency landing on a road, the airplane struck a power line, then collided with the ground inverted. The underside of the fuselage and empennage was found heavily coated with and streaming engine oil. Examination of the engine found the number 1 connecting rod detached. The number 2 and 3 connecting rods exhibited heat discoloration and lack of lubrication. Bearing material was extruded, the connection rods were separated, and both were found in multiple pieces. The number 4 connecting rod remained attached, and the bearing showed early signs of heat discoloration and lack of lubrication. The connecting rod separations exhibited overload signatures, and there were no signs of fatigue. Maintenance records indicate an annual inspection was completed on December 14, 2001, at an engine time of 595 hours since major overhaul, and the engine accumulated 70 hours since inspection. The engine received a propeller strike inspection on February 8, 2000, and the engine was disassembled, repaired, and reassembled. The engine time for the propeller strike repairs was not recorded in the maintenance log.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Total loss of engine power due to oil system starvation. A factor was the transmission wire encountered during emergency descent.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/23/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1835 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Charleston |
| Event State | SOUTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 29405 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 324203N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0800010W |
| Event Location Airport | Charleston International |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | CHS |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 15 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 225 |
| Airport Elevation | 46 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1456 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | CHS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 46 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Dusk |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 160 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.12 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 822 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 2 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 13673 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 23 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2337 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 23 2003 8:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Columbia FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4560H |
| NTSB Number | ATL02LA103 |
| 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 | Mooney |
| Aircraft Model | M20J |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 24-0766 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3500 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 14 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 70 |
| Airframe Hours | 5922 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | EMARC Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4261 Americana Dr. #506 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Stow |
| Aircraft Owner State | OH |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 44224 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Lawrence Robert Fischer |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 1400 Thronblade Blvd |
| Operator City | Greer |
| Operator State | SC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 29650 |
| 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 | KCHS |
| Departure City | Charleston AFB |
| Departure State | SC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1810 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | CHS |
| Destination City | Charleston |
| Destination State | SC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency descent/landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 30 2003 4:58PM |
| User who most recently changed record | POWP |
| 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 | -- |