Wheeler Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Knox, Indiana 46534
Monday, March 31, 2003 14:40 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The aircraft was substantially damaged during a forced landing following an engine failure. The pilot reported that a newly overhauled engine had recently been installed on the aircraft. Several ground test runs had been completed with no problems noted. Immediately prior to the accident flight, the pilot stated that the engine was warmed up and the oil temperature was within takeoff limits. He reported that he departed uneventfully and climbed to 400 feet above ground level. He noted that the oil temperature rose to 180 - 200 degrees before dropping back to 135 degrees, indicating the oil was being circulated through the oil cooler. About five miles south of the departure airport the pilot noted a drop in oil pressure and decided to divert to an intermediate airport. The oil pressure continued to drop and the engine started losing power. The aircraft was not able to maintain altitude at this point. The pilot estimated that he was not going to be able to clear a line of trees adjacent to the intermediate airport. He selected and made a forced landing in a field short of the airport. He stated that he touched down in the field "all right," but to avoid hitting trees at the end of the field, he applied the brakes causing the aircraft to flip over. The aircraft came to rest inverted at the edge of a harvested soybean field. An on-scene inspection revealed that three cylinder heads had failed. The lower fuselage was covered in oil emanating in a fan-shaped pattern from the engine oil breather tube and extending to the tail of the aircraft. An engine teardown was performed. The master rod bearing was deformed and had extruded from the rod. It appeared to have a bluish tint consistent with overheating of the material. The oil pump would not rotate under hand pressure. The drive gear, housing and attachments appeared undamaged. The oil check valve was free to move. Upon disassembly, the oil pump gears appeared undamaged. Scrape marks were observed on the interior of the pump housing. At the oil pump inlet a small piece of rubber hose was recovered. The engine fittings were not capped when the NTSB arrived for the teardown.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power due to oil starvation as a result of the failure of the master rod bearing. Contributing factors were the tree line at the edge of the field, and the unsuitable terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/31/2003
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1440
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Knox
Event State INDIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 46534
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 411123N
Event Location Longitude 0863625W
Event Location Airport Wheeler
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3C5
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 270
Airport Elevation 720
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 310
Weather Observation Facility ID VPZ
Elevation of weather observation facility 771
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 23
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 7000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.05
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15831
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Mar 31 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1500
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 29 2004 7:30AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA -- South Bend FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N45297
NTSB Number CHI03LA095
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 Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Air Tractor
Aircraft Model AT-401
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 401-0760
Certified Max Gross Weight 7400
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 14 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 195
Airframe Hours 3948
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jim Hurt
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 853
Aircraft Owner City Logansport
Aircraft Owner State IN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 46947
Operator is an individual? Yes
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 --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
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) Flight Test
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code OXI
Departure City Knox
Departure State IN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code RWN
Destination City Winamac
Destination State IN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 26 2004 8:01AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
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 --