Flagler County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bunnell, Florida 32110
Wednesday, March 29, 2006 8:40 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that earlier that morning he flew to the Flagler County Airport, landed, and secured the engine. He then elected to return to the departure airport. He did not perform a preflight inspection of the airplane, and after starting the engine he taxied to and departed from runway 29. During the initial climb at approximately 1,500 feet he noted smoke coming from the engine compartment and the engine experienced a partial loss of power. He turned to return to the airport and the engine seized. He performed a forced landing on a dirt road and during the landing roll ran off the road and collided with a tree. Post accident examination of the engine by an FAA airworthiness inspector revealed an oil film inside the engine cowling and also on the right side of the fuselage from the engine cowling to midspan of the right wing. Additionally, damage to one of the cylinders was noted. The engine driven vacuum pump was found to have not been installed correctly with incorrect gasket material which was baffle gasket material and that the nuts that hold and seal the vacuum pump on were not torqued to proper specs and/or were missing all together and that there was oil on the rubber gaskets. The owner/pilot admitted to having worked along side with the IA to install the engine driven vacuum pump. The owner/pilot also stated that after they were finished installing the pump, he asked the IA if they had installed it correctly because it was sticking out more then he was used to. The IA reported having supervised the owner/pilot who did the work, then checked what he had done and signed it off. The engine had only 8 hours and was within a month of being overhauled at the time of the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the pilot to perform a preflight inspection of the airplane resulting in departure with an inadequate oil supply, subsequent engine failure due to oil starvation, and damage to the airplane during a forced landing. Contributing to the accident was the improper installation of the engine-driven vacuum pump by a mechanic.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/29/2006
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 840
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Bunnell
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32110
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 292802N
Event Location Longitude 0811149W
Event Location Airport FLAGLER COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID X47
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1.5
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 33
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 853 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 156
Weather Observation Facility ID KDAB
Elevation of weather observation facility 34
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 19
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 12000
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) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.28
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) 21875
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Mar 29 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 25 2007 12:22PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Orlando, Florida

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2182T
NTSB Number MIA06LA073
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-180
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-7205037
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 7.69
Airframe Hours 5812.16
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Donald S. Willis
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3719 Longford Circle
Aircraft Owner City Ormond Beach
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32174
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 X47
Departure City Bunnell
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 835
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code KOMN
Destination City Ormond Beach
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 6 2007 3:12PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 29
Runway Length 4999
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --