Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Fabens, Texas 79838
Thursday, December 9, 2004 15:12 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The 600-hour private pilot reported that he began "having engine difficulties." The pilot noticed, "the #2 cylinder head temperature gauge was indicating a lower than normal temperature, and shortly thereafter, there was a loss of engine oil pressure." The pilot then determined that there were no available airport landing sites, and few minutes later, the engine stopped. He prepared to execute an off-airfield emergency landing. He determined that the safest place to land was the westbound lane of an interstate highway below him. During the landing flare, the right wing of the airplane collided with the rear of a large semi-tractor truck that was traveling on the highway. The airplane then flipped over and came to rest inverted.
A certificated airframe and powerplant mechanic examined the engine under the supervision of the FAA inspector. The examination revealed that the connecting rod to the # 2 piston was broken. The piston was seized inside of the cylinder and could not be removed. No rod bolts or hardware were found. There was damage to the engine case between the #2 and #4 cylinders. The spark plugs were removed and inspected, and no anomalies were found. The oil filter and oil screen were removed, and metal flakes were observed. Oil was not observed on the dipstick or anywhere in the engine, nor did it appear on the exterior surface of the airplane.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power as a result of the failure of a connecting rod due to oil starvation/exhaustion. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/9/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1512 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Fabens |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 79838 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 313056N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1060849W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1451 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 315 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ELP |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 3679 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 22 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| 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) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 1 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 13 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.12 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 4589 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 18966 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Communications Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 9 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1718 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 31 2006 7:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | -- |
| FAA District Office | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3208F |
| NTSB Number | DFW05LA033 |
| 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 | M20F |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 670362 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2740 |
| 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 | Jun 1 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 30 |
| Airframe Hours | 4000 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Mark T. Davis |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 304 Sharondale Drive |
| Aircraft Owner City | EL Paso |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 79912 |
| 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 | 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) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | FST |
| Departure City | Fort Stockton |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1415 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | ELP |
| Destination City | El Paso |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 31 2005 3:12PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| 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 | -- |