Howard Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Howard, South Dakota 57349
Wednesday, May 23, 2012 10:45 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The engine had recently been installed under a supplemental type certificate and had accrued 2 hours flight time before the accident. The pilot said that he took off on the test flight and adjusted the throttle and propeller control for climb. He noticed low oil pressure and a loss of propeller pitch control. In his attempt to return to the airport, the airplane started to settle and lose altitude. He made a forced landing in a rough pasture. The right wing struck terrain, which damaged the spar, and the airplane nosed down. Postaccident examination revealed a fractured aluminum line where it attached to the propeller governor, resulting in a loss of oil and oil pressure. Only two quarts of oil remained in the crankcase. The fractured line had been fabricated during the engine installation. Maintenance personnel said they should have installed more Adel clamps to secure the line and minimize vibrations.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A fractured fabricated aluminum oil line, which resulted in oil exhaustion followed by a forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/23/2012
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1045
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Howard
Event State SOUTH DAKOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 57349
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 440145N
Event Location Longitude 0973216W
Event Location Airport Howard Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID K8D9
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1582
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1053 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 230
Weather Observation Facility ID KMHE
Elevation of weather observation facility 1304
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 30
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 18
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.24
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KMHE 121553Z AUTO 27004KT 10SM CLR 17/06 A3024 KM
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) 30197
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 4 2012 2:37PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8421V
NTSB Number CEN12LA357
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 ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL
Aircraft Model S-2R
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2181R
Certified Max Gross Weight 6000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 4 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 8776
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name EAST RIVER AIR SPRAY LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2652 LAKE SHORE DR
Aircraft Owner City VOLGA
Aircraft Owner State SD
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 57071-7025
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name East River Air Spray
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Volga
Operator State SD
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 57071-7025
Operator Code JTYG
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
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) Flight Test
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code K8D9
Departure City Howard
Departure State SD
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1040
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code K8D9
Destination City Howard
Destination State SD
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 22 2012 7:35PM
User who most recently changed record scoa
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 --