Silver West Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Westcliffe, Colorado 81252
Tuesady, August 7, 2012 8:30 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After leveling off at 12,000 feet mean sea level for a test flight, the pilot noticed that the oil temperature began to increase, and then the engine lost oil pressure. The engine then lost total power, and the pilot performed a forced landing in a field. An examination of the engine revealed that a gasket between the remote oil filter adapter and the "spin-on" filter mounting pad had failed, which resulted in a loss of oil. The owner reported that he had lubricated the gasket with a compound upon installation. It could not be determined whether the compound had degraded the gasket.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of oil pressure due to the failure of an oil filter gasket, which resulted in a total loss of engine power.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/7/2012
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 830
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Westcliffe
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 81252
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Silver West
Event Location Nearest Airport ID C08
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 853 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 80
Weather Observation Facility ID KPUB
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 44
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
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) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.21
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KPUB 071453Z 28008KT 10SM CLR 28/08 A3021 RM
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31146
NTSB Notification Source DEN FSDO
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 26 2013 5:07PM
User who most recently changed record aguj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N71AJ
NTSB Number CEN12LA543
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 CROSS DAVID L
Aircraft Model GLASAIR III
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3314
Certified Max Gross Weight 2500
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 Conditional
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name CROSS DAVID L
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City WESTCLIFFE
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 81252-9816
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name CROSS DAVID L
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City WESTCLIFFE
Operator State CO
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 81252-9816
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 C08
Departure City Westcliffe
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 820
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code C08
Destination City Westcliffe
Destination State CO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 26 2013 5:08PM
User who most recently changed record aguj
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --