Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Weaverville Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Lewiston, California 96052
Friday, February 17, 2012 11:55 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
As the airplane climbed to an altitude of about 4,000 feet mean sea level after departure, the engine quit and would not restart. The pilot landed the airplane on a 3-lane section of highway; however, as the highway narrowed, the airplane’s left wing struck two road signs and was substantially damaged. On-scene personnel observed oil streaks on the left side of the airplane’s wing and fuselage that appeared to emanate from the engine cowl. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the No. 1 connecting rod bearing had seized and that internal engine damage was consistent with oil starvation. Additionally, examination revealed that a single propeller governor gasket was installed on the engine, whereas the proper gasket configuration was a governor pad plate sandwiched between two gaskets. Maintenance records showed that 10 hours before the accident, maintenance that required the removal and reinstallation of the propeller governor had been performed on the engine. The Mooney service manual does not specify that a 3-piece gasket stack be used when installing the propeller governor; however, the Mooney Illustrated Parts Manual shows a 3-piece gasket stack in place at the propeller governor. Additionally, a Lycoming Service Instruction and a Federal Aviation Administration Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin, both of which were issued in 2005, state that a propeller governor pad plate is necessary in this installation to eliminate the possibility of oil leakage between the propeller governor and the accessory housing.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A loss of engine power due to oil starvation as a result of improper maintenance.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/17/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1155 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Lewiston |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 96052 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 404028N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1224937W |
| Event Location Airport | Weaverville |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KO54 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 2350 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1153 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 120 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KRDD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 505 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 20 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| 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) | 12 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 1 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.27 |
| 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) | 31415 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Western Pacific ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 14 2013 1:04PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N367MR |
| NTSB Number | WPR12LA108 |
| 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 | MOONEY |
| Aircraft Model | M20J |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 24-1437 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2740 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 1 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 3 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 12 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 1 |
| Airframe Hours | 2064 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | KROUSE DONALD E |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | WEAVERVILLE |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 96093-2460 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | KROUSE DONALD E |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | WEAVERVILLE |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 96093-2460 |
| 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 | KO54 |
| Departure City | Weaverville |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1150 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | KO85 |
| Destination City | Redding |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 14 2013 12:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| 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 | -- |