Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Mesa Del Rey Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
King City, California 93930
Tuesady, November 11, 2003 12:20 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane lost engine power and subsequently overran the runway and impacted terrain while making an emergency landing at an airport. The pilot reported that about 5 minutes after takeoff he noticed a loss of oil pressure, followed by a loss of power. He decided to return to the departure airport, and while en route back the windscreen became obscured by engine oil. During the landing the pilot landed long and was unable to stop the airplane before it departed the runway environment. The airplane came to rest north of the departure end of runway 29 in a ditch. During the engine examination, the crankshaft was found cracked completely through diagonally across the counterweight hanging blade cheek located between connecting rod journal numbers five and six. Textron Lycoming was contacted regarding the crankshaft serial number and applicability to the Lycoming mandatory service bulletins (552 and 553) and FAA airworthiness directive (AD2002-19-03) relating to crankshaft manufacturing defects causing catastrophic in-service crankshaft failures. They said the crankshaft by serial number was a "small journal six" and therefore was not affected by the recall or inspections required by both the service bulletins or airworthiness directive. Lycoming service bulletins 552, 553, and airworthiness directive 2002-19-03 relate specifically to engines rated at 300 horsepower (hp) and above. The "small journal six" crankshaft is not a 300 hp crankshaft. It is typically utilized in engines producing no more than 260 hp. Textron Lycoming originally manufactured this crankshaft for installation into an AEIO-540-D4A5 model engine rated at 260 hp and 2,700 rpm. Therefore, neither the mandatory service bulletin nor the airworthiness directive were applicable. This engine was modified by a engine overhaul shop for installation in experimental airplanes and carried a data plate naming the shop as the manufacturer and labeling the engine as a AEIO-540-EXP. The engine closely resembles a Lycoming AEIO-540-L1B5 model rated at 300 hp and 2,700 rpm, but with other modifications proprietary to the overhaul shop that increased its horsepower rating to 340 hp.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The after market manufacturer's improper application of a crankshaft , which exceeded the original manufacturer's intended use. A factor in the accident was the oil covering the windscreen, which restricted the pilot's ability to see.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/11/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1220 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | King City |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 93930 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 361340N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1210718W |
| Event Location Airport | Mesa Del Rey Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KIC |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 370 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1220 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 300 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SNS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 74 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 35 |
| 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) | 18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.15 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 17325 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 11 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1300 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 24 2005 9:13AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | WP-FSDO- San Jose |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N540RC |
| NTSB Number | LAX04LA039 |
| 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 | Zivko |
| Aircraft Model | Edge 540-T |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 2014 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1950 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 19 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 55 |
| Airframe Hours | 100 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Roger L. Claypool |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Paia |
| Aircraft Owner State | HI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 96779 |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | KIC |
| Departure City | King City |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1215 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | KIC |
| Destination City | King City |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency 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 | 29 |
| Runway Length | 4485 |
| Runway Width | 1367 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |