Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Paulden, Arizona 86334
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 17:50 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A witness observed the accident airplane performing turns to the left and right and trailing white smoke. The witness stated that the airplane was about "tree-top level" when it pitched down and impacted the ground. Examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed oil along the bottom side of the fuselage and on the tailwheel. A friend of the pilot, who was also an aircraft mechanic, reported that prior to the accident flight he and the pilot found an oil leak originating from a stainless steel high-pressure oil line from the propeller governor to the forward area of the engine crankcase. The mechanic stated that he had removed the oil line and the pilot had it repaired by a local weld shop. After reinstallation of the oil line, the mechanic conducted an engine run and did not observe any oil leaks originating from the oil line. The pilot then decided to fly the airplane around the area on a test flight. According to the mechanic, as the airplane departed the runway, he observed a trail of white smoke originating from the airplane. Despite two requests by the mechanic to return to the airport, the pilot stated that "everything was fine" and he was going to continue to a nearby airport. No further radio communication was received from the pilot. Examination of the engine revealed that the stainless steel high pressure oil line from the propeller governor was in place. The oil line exhibited a repair weld on the forward area of the line, and corresponding wear marks were observed on the engine crankcase. The oil line was removed and the forward end of the oil line was capped off using a bolt. The area of the weld was placed under water and compressed air pressure was applied to the opposite end of the oil line. A leak was observed originating from the area of the weld. Partial disassembly of the engine revealed that the number two connecting rod was separated from the crankshaft and exhibited signatures consistent with oil starvation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A total loss of engine power due to oil starvation as a result of a leak from the inadequate weld repair of a high-pressure oil line. Also causal was the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering that resulted in a stall during an attempted off-field landing and the pilot's decision to continue flight with a known discrepancy.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/18/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1750 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Paulden |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 86334 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 345551N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1123045W |
| 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 | 1753 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 160 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PRC |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 5045 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 13 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| 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) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| 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) | 30.1 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 25674 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 2 2009 3:26PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6383W |
| NTSB Number | WPR09LA153 |
| 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 | HOWES |
| Aircraft Model | RV-6 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 22415 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1600 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | CURTIS L JARVIS |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | HOUSTON |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 77240-0938 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | CURTIS L JARVIS |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | HOUSTON |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 77240-0938 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | SEZ |
| Departure City | Sedona |
| Departure State | AZ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1740 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | AZ27 |
| Destination City | Paulden |
| Destination State | AZ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 2 2009 3:25PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |