Sierra Vista Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sierra Vista, Arizona 85613
Saturday, September 11, 2010 9:30 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he had flown the airplane about 6 hours with the recently overhauled engine. During the accident flight, he performed touch-and-go landings and then went to an aerobatic area to perform flight maneuvers. During the maneuvers, he noted that the oil pressure was initially 65 to 70 psi, dropped to about 40 psi, and returned to 70 psi when the airplane was in inverted flight. He then did left and right 90-degree inverted turns. As he completed a steep turn, he noticed that the oil pressure was at 0 psi. Before he could react, the engine seized and stopped. The pilot made a successful landing on a road but had to negotiate around a 45-degree left bend; as the airplane rounded the curve, a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction collided with the left wing. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the connecting rod near cylinder Nos. 5 and 6 had failed when the engine seized. Further examination found that the shuttle valve, which controlled oil flow while the airplane was in inverted flight, had a triangular shaped shard of metal wedged under the remaining steel ball. This kept the ball from moving its full travel to the shut off position, resulting in a loss of lubrication to the engine.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power due to metal debris contamination of the inverted oil system shuttle valve, which resulted in a disruption of oil flow and subsequent oil starvation.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/11/2010
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 930
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Sierra Vista
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85613
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 292801N
Event Location Longitude 1100021W
Event Location Airport Sierra Vista Muni Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID FHU
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 4719
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 853 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID FHU
Elevation of weather observation facility 4719
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 3
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) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 3
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 30342
NTSB Notification Source FAA AWP 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 31 2012 5:53PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N102EX
NTSB Number WPR10LA454
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 --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name EXTRA FLUGZEUGBAU GMBH
Aircraft Model EA-300
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 007
Certified Max Gross Weight 2895
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 Aug 2 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 6
Airframe Hours 2626
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name James S. Hanke
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Sierra Vista
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85650
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name James S. Hanke
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Sierra Vista
Operator State AZ
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 85650
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code FHU
Departure City Sierra Vista
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 850
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code FHU
Destination City Sierra Vista
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 31 2012 5:53PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --