Huthinson County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Borger, Texas 79007
Thursday, April 15, 2004 16:35 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The homebuilt airplane landed short of Runway 21 following a loss of engine power after takeoff. The 355-hour private pilot/owner/builder reported that prior to takeoff he pulled into the run-up area and "checked all conditions....and all indications [were] positive." The takeoff was normal until he reached an altitude of 1,200 AGL, when he noticed an increase in oil temperature. The pilot leveled the airplane, and initiated a left crosswind turn, followed by a downwind turn in the traffic pattern. The oil temperature continued to increase toward the red-line mark on the gauge. When the airplane was on the downwind leg, engine power decreased and he was unable to maintain altitude. The pilot extended the flaps to 20 degrees and turned onto a short final approach for Runway 21. The airplane impacted terrain approximately 100 feet short of the landing threshold. Subsequently, the landing gear collapsed, and the airplane nosed over, slid for approximately 100 feet, and came to rest in an inverted position at the threshold of Runway 21. Continuity was established for the engine controls and fuel system, and honey-colored oil had exited the carburetor and had pooled around the engine area. The engine oil and engine oil filter were changed approximately 1-hour before the flight. The new Chevrolet V6 4.3 liter liquid cooled automotive engine had accrued a total of five hours at the time of the accident. A normal amount of engine coolant was also observed. Further examination of the engine by the pilot/owner/builder, revealed that the main bearings and connecting rod bearings were partially seized on the engine, and that the clearances between the journals and the bearings were too tight. The bearings exhibited chafing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A partial loss of engine power as a result of inadequate clearance between the journals and bearings.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/15/2004
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1635
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Borger
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 79007
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 354200N
Event Location Longitude 1012338W
Event Location Airport Huthinson County
Event Location Nearest Airport ID BGD
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 3055
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1521 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID BGD
Elevation of weather observation facility 3055
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.93
Density Altitude (feet) 5188
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15893
NTSB Notification Source FAA SW Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Apr 15 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1850
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 Lubbock FAA/FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N82LS
NTSB Number FTW04LA109
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 Spannagel
Aircraft Model RV-8A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 83013
Certified Max Gross Weight 1800
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 Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Mar 27 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 5
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Lawrence E. Spannagel
Aircraft Owner Street Address 112 Lakeview Street
Aircraft Owner City Borger
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 79007
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code BGD
Departure City Borger
Departure State TN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1630
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency descent/landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 25 2004 6:55PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 21
Runway Length 3898
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --