Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sylvan Grove, Kansas 67481
Wednesday, August 1, 2007 16:15 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane had been fully serviced with fuel and oil prior to takeoff. During the initial climb to 10,500 feet, the electronic manifold pressure gauge malfunctioned so the pilot managed power "by throttle position." He reduced power when the number 2 cylinder head temperature increased more than the other cylinder head temperatures. Almost immediately upon leveling off, the engine lost power. When the fuel boost pump was switched to HIGH, the engine "fired and achieved lower power for 30 seconds." Mixture control manipulation restarted the engine, but after a few seconds there was "an explosion and a lot of smoke." The engine stopped but [the propeller] "appeared to be turning freely" all the way down. The pilot made a rapid descent and landed in an open field. The airplane rolled about 400 feet, crested a small rise, then struck a ground depression that collapsed the landing gear. The airplane then slid sideways for another 300 feet. The pilot used his cellular telephone to alert authorities of the accident. FAA inspectors examined the engine, a Continental TSIO-550-B-1-B (s.n. 802008), and found evidence of catastrophic engine failure. An oil line to the turbocharger wastegate actuator had come loose, causing oil starvation and high heat distress. A hole in the engine case exposed the number 5 journal and imprints from rod bolt strikes. The airplane was built in 1992. The engine had a total time of 88 hours.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A catastrophic engine failure due to oil starvation when an oil line to the turbocharger wastegate actuator came loose. Contributing factors in this accident were the unsuitable terrain on which to make a forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/1/2007 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1615 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Sylvan Grove |
| Event State | KANSAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 67481 |
| Event Date Year | 2007 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 385938N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0993543W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1553 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 240 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | RSL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1862 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 29 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3900 |
| 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) | 32 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 22 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 150 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 14 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 18 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.91 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 22626 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-Central Region |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 1 2007 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 20 2007 6:59AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Wichita, Kansas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N7441W |
| NTSB Number | DEN07LA133 |
| 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 | Walker |
| Aircraft Model | Lancair IV |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | LIV-076 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3550 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 1 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 90 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Bruce A. Stratton |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1200 Hot Springs La. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Santa Barbara |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 93108 |
| 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 | 3JC |
| Departure City | Junction City |
| Departure State | KS |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1355 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | FMN |
| Destination City | Farmington |
| Destination State | NM |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 8 2007 4:12PM |
| User who most recently changed record | BOWL |
| 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 | -- |