Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Hunting Island, South Carolina 29448
Wednesday, December 23, 2009 15:32 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
While maneuvering as part of a formation flight, the pilot noticed that the electronic instruments were dimming and that the oil pressure gauge indicated zero. About 10 seconds later, the engine seized and the pilot performed a forced landing on a dirt road. The airplane incurred substantial damage during landing when it veered into a ditch. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the No.1 cylinder's connecting rod was protruding through the top of the engine case. Upon removal of the engine cowling, the brass B-nut was found separated from the oil cooler fitting. There was no apparent damage to the threads on the inside of the nut and no damage on the outside of the fitting. Oil was present in the oil sump and on the oil dipstick.
The engine had a dry sump forced lubrication system. The oil pump extracts the oil from the oil tank via the oil cooler and forces it through the oil filter to the engine. According to notations found in the airplane's maintenance logbook, the engine's oil had been changed 1.6 flight hours prior to the accident. According to the owner, maintenance personnel did not touch the oil cooler or fittings during the oil change service. The engine manufacturer’s Service Instructions manual had a warning associated with servicing and purging of the oil system. The warning stated that maintenance personnel should carefully check all lubrication system connections, lines and clamps for leaks and security.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Maintenance personnel's inadequate inspection of the oil system's fittings during a routine oil servicing, which resulted in oil starvation due to a loose and/or detached oil line B-nut fitting that led to the engine seizing while in flight.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/23/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1532 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Hunting Island |
| Event State | SOUTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 29448 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 320521N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0805735W |
| 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 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 281 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SAV |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 50 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 12 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 21000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 21000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Overcast |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 12 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 80 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.2 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 28306 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern Region C-ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 18 2011 7:38AM |
| User who most recently changed record | rows |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N721FP |
| NTSB Number | ERA10LA100 |
| 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 | FPNA LLC |
| Aircraft Model | A-22 Valor |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 263 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1199 |
| 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 | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 4 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 22 |
| Airframe Hours | 463 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | FPNA LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Palm Harbor |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 34682 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Costal Empire Flight Training Academy LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Beufort |
| Operator State | SC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 29907 |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | SAV |
| Departure City | Savannah |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1510 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | SAV |
| Destination City | Savannah |
| Destination State | GA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 29 2011 9:56AM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |