Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Boca Raton, Florida 33498
Friday, July 12, 2002 13:32 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The accident airplane nosed over while ditching in the Florida Everglades following an inflight emergency, and an emergency descent. Both private-rated pilots were fatally injured during the ditching when the airplane flipped over,and remained inverted and submerged in about 4 feet of water. Examination of the airframe and flight controls did not reveal any anomalies. Examination of the engine revealed that the interior of the #4 cylinder assembly had incurred mechanical damage, and both the top of the piston and the cylinder head exhibited multiple indentations. In addition, a hole was found to be present in the top of the piston. The No. 4 exhaust valve tulip was found to have separated from the stem, and the oil pressure screen was found to contain a small amount of aluminum particles. During disassembly, fragments of the exhaust valve tulip were found within the combustion chamber and in the exhaust system, and the fragments varied in size and shape, with about 50 percent of the tulip being missing. In addition, the examination revealed that various steel components within the power section exhibited corrosion. Corrosion was found on the crankshaft, camshaft, and accessory gears. The bearing surfaces within the power section exhibited evidence of dirt/particle embedment. The NTSB retained the parts pertaining to the #4 cylinder assembly, to include fragments of the No. 4 exhaust valve, 8 tappets, and plungers, and the center main bearing, for further examination, but extensive damage to the valve stem and head surfaces precluded any determination of a fracture mechanism. Research into airplane's maintenance history revealed that the last engine overhaul had been performed 23 years prior to the accident. At the time of the accident, the engine had accumulated 1246.49 hours in service. Lycoming Service Instruction No. 1009AQ indicates that the O-320 Series engine should be overhauled after 2000 hours time in service. Engines that do not accumulate the hourly time between overhauls, are recommended to be overhauled in the twelfth year. In addition, in 1983 Lycoming changed the part number for the exhaust valve for the accident engine, and Lycoming's Service Bulletin 240 suggests that the old exhaust valves, made from martensitic stainless steel, should be replaced with the new part, made from a nickel-base superalloy, at the time of overhaul, which records indicate had not been performed. "Lycoming Mandatory Service Bulletin No. 388B" addresses the subject: Procedure to Determine Valve and Guide Condition, and a review of maintenance records for subject engine showed that on July 2, 1999, the engine had been given a "Lycoming 400-hour valve inspection."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The owner/operator's failure to perform an overhaul or comply with a service bulletin 240 which would have probably precluded the continued installation of the number four cylinder exhaust valve and its subsequent failure.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/12/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1332 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Boca Raton |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 33498 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 262252N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0802215W |
| Event Location Airport | Fort Lauderdale Executive |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | FXE |
| 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 | 315 |
| Airport Elevation | 14 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1340 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 135 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | FXE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 14 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 9000 |
| 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) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 22 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 150 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 14 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.99 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 17454 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA FSDO Ft. Lauderdale |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 12 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1409 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 30 2005 6:20AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Ft. Lauderdale |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6024L |
| NTSB Number | MIA02FA131 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Minor |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | American General Aircraft |
| Aircraft Model | AA-5 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | AA5--0124 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2200 |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 1 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 26.87 |
| Airframe Hours | 3246.49 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Richard S. Levin |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 5041 NW 95th Dr. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Coral Springs |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33076 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | PHK |
| Departure City | Pahokee |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1300 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | FXE |
| Destination City | Ft. Lauderdale |
| Destination State | FL |
| 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 | -- |
| User who most recently changed record | -- |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |