Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Pleasant Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Phoenix, Arizona 85027
Thursday, October 18, 2012 10:40 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was over mountainous terrain when the pilot noticed the engine oil pressure was below 30 psi. He determined that the closest suitable airport was his destination airport, and continued to that airport. Shortly thereafter, the engine oil pressure dropped to zero, and the engine began to shake violently. The pilot shut down the engine, declared an emergency, and turned towards the nearest airport displayed on his GPS, but he did not have enough altitude to glide all the way to the airport. The pilot executed a forced landing in desert terrain. During the landing, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the nose and left wing.
Postlanding photographs show oil and dirt streaks along the right side of the airplane originating from the vicinity of the engine cowling. A postaccident engine examination revealed that the lower bolts that secured the engine oil cooler were not tight and that the lower half of the oil cooler gasket was deformed, which allowed pressurized oil to exit the engine along the bottom of the oil cooler adaptor plate. Additional engine cooling baffling was also secured to the engine by the oil cooler bolts. Thermal and mechanical damage within the engine was consistent with oil starvation. The airplane had its annual inspection 6.4 hours prior to the accident. A normal part of the annual inspection would have been to remove the baffling around the engine oil cooler in order to fully access the engine; the baffling would be replaced after completion of the inspection. It is likely that the bottom bolts of the engine oil cooler where the baffling attached were not properly torqued during reinstallation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A loss of engine power due to oil starvation due to loose oil cooler attachment bolts. Contributing to the accident was inadequate maintenance during the annual inspection.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/18/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1040 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Phoenix |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 85027 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 334760N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1121200W |
| Event Location Airport | Pleasant Valley |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KP48 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 8 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 90 |
| Airport Elevation | 1580 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1053 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 270 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KDVT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1478 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| 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) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 15 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 200 |
| 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) | 30.05 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | 18/10/2012 17:53->METAR KDVT 181753Z 20006KT 10SM |
| 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) | 33133 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA 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 2 2014 6:47PM |
| User who most recently changed record | mckv |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N671VC |
| NTSB Number | WPR13LA015 |
| 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 | BEECH |
| Aircraft Model | N35 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | D-6732 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3125 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 1 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 4 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 5 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 12 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 6.4 |
| Airframe Hours | 4767 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Yes |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ANDERSON DONALD E |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | PRESCOTT |
| Aircraft Owner State | AZ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 86302-1270 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | ANDERSON DONALD E |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | PRESCOTT |
| Operator State | AZ |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 86302-1270 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| 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 | KPRC |
| Departure City | Prescott |
| Departure State | AZ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1009 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | KDVT |
| Destination City | Phoenix |
| Destination State | AZ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 2 2014 6:47PM |
| User who most recently changed record | mckv |
| 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 | -- |