Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Victoria Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Victoria, Texas 77904
Saturday, June 15, 2013 9:47 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Two days before the accident, both engines lost power after takeoff. The pilot returned to the airport and landed the airplane uneventfully. Maintenance personnel were unable to determine the cause of the engines' power loss. Both engine wastegates were removed and bench tested, and they operated normally. Ground, high-speed taxi, and flight tests were conducted with no discrepancies noted. Earlier on the day of the accident, the airplane had been flown for an uneventful 45-minute flight. However, during takeoff for the accident flight, both engines lost power, and the pilot made a forced landing in a field. Disassembly of the left engine revealed that the idler pin was unsecured and that no nuts were present on either of the two bolt studs. The bolt studs were worn and stripped of threads near the base, consistent with being worn by the free movement of the idler pin. The engine casting where the idler pin was installed was fractured. The crankshaft, camshaft, starter drive, and starter adapter gear teeth were stripped, and metal fragments were noted in the oil screen and sump. The right engine was functionally tested and operated satisfactorily at all power settings. Based on the evidence found during the left engine examinations, it is likely that a catastrophic left engine failure occurred during the accident flight due to an unsecured idler pin.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Maintenance personnel's failure to secure the left engine idler pin during overhaul, which resulted in a catastrophic engine failure and subsequent forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/15/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 947 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Victoria |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 77904 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 285040N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0965417W |
| Event Location Airport | Victoria Regional |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KVCT |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 115 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 951 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 270 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KVCT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 115 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2200 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 30 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 24 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 180 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.99 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KVCT 151451Z 18009KT 10SM FEW 022 30/24 A2999 |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 1 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 2 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 5 |
| Injury Total All | 6 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 32236 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ASW ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 26 2013 1:38PM |
| User who most recently changed record | scoa |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N74CP |
| NTSB Number | CEN13FA352 |
| 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 | AERO COMMANDER |
| Aircraft Model | 685 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 12061 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 9000 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 7 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 9 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 5 2013 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 3484 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Aero Investments, LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2710 Thomes Ave. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Cheyenne |
| Aircraft Owner State | WY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 82001-3029 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Daniel Nghiem |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | P.O. Box 11066 |
| Operator City | Westminster |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 92685 |
| 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) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | KVCT |
| Departure City | Victoria Region |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 946 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | KVCT |
| Destination City | Victoria Region |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 23 2013 6:41PM |
| User who most recently changed record | scoa |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 13L |
| Runway Length | 9101 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |