Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Richland, Washington 99301
Monday, August 22, 2005 8:35 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot, who had just finished practicing a series of aerobatic maneuvers, was descending back toward the airport when the engine suddenly quit. He attempted to restart the engine, which momentarily fired, but it did not stay running. The propeller, which initially was windmilling after the power loss, eventually came to a stop, and the pilot was unable to get the engine to rotate by activating the starter. He therefore made a power-off forced landing in a nearby open field, and although the flare and touchdown were uneventful, during the landing roll, the aircraft encountered a pair of eight inch high berms and nosed over onto its back. A post accident inspection of the aircraft and engine determined that the fitting that attaches the oil pressure gauge line to the engine had come loose, and oil had escaped from the area around the fitting. Further inspection revealed that the loss of oil lead to extensive thermal and mechanical damage to the primary lower end engine components, and that the engine had seized as a result of that damage. A review of the aircraft records did not reveal any recent maintenance in which the oil pressure measuring system would have been expected to have been manipulated.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The oil pressure gauge line fitting coming loose from the engine, resulting in the loss of oil to the point where internal engine components were starved for oil, leading to extensive internal damage and seizing of the engine. Factors include a set of eight inch high berms in the field where the pilot found it necessary to execute his forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/22/2005
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 835
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Richland
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99301
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 462202N
Event Location Longitude 1191823W
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 3
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 500
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) 20
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
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) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 18673
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Aug 22 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 27 2005 6:51AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Spokane FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7546T
NTSB Number SEA05LA179
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 American Champion (ACAC)
Aircraft Model 7KCAB
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 287-70
Certified Max Gross Weight 1650
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
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 Dec 1 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 118
Airframe Hours 3540
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Bryan F. Gore
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Richland
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99354
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 No
Departure Airport Code KRLD
Departure City Richland
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 800
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code KRLD
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Descent
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 12 2005 12:24PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --