This record has been locked for editing.
Date: | Monday 16 April 2012 |
Time: | 15:00 |
Type: | Van's RV-7A |
Owner/operator: | Private |
Registration: | N5025G |
MSN: | 71591 |
Total airframe hrs: | 290 hours |
Engine model: | MAZDA 13B |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
Other fatalities: | 0 |
Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
Category: | Accident |
Location: | Berkeley County, WV -
United States of America
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Private |
Departure airport: | Martinsburg, WV (MRB) |
Destination airport: | Martinsburg, WV (MRB) |
Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:According to the pilot, after about 2 1/2 hours of local flight, while maneuvering at 3,000 feet, the airplane's rotary engine coolant temperature rose. As the pilot turned the airplane back toward the departure airport, the engine seized and would not turn over during an attempted restart. The pilot performed a forced landing in a field, and the airplane nosed over. The pilot, who was also the airplane's builder, subsequently disassembled the engine and found that the stationary gear/bearing was frozen to the eccentric shaft. The pilot also reported that he had recently attempted to fine tune the engine by having the side and intermediate housings undergo lap grinding. The pilot knew the grinding would require wider spacers, which he used, but which may have still been insufficient in width. The insufficient width resulted in bearing oil hole misalignment on the eccentric shaft, which blocked oil from reaching the rotating engine and reduction drive shaft parts.
Probable Cause: The pilot/builder's misjudgment of the required spacer width needed after engine housing lap grinding, which resulted in bearing oil hole misalignment and insufficient internal engine lubrication.
Accident investigation:
|
| |
Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Report number: | ERA12LA293 |
Status: | Investigation completed |
Duration: | 9 months |
Download report: | Final report |
|
Sources:
NTSB
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft Location
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
17-Apr-2012 01:37 |
gerard57 |
Added |
17-Apr-2012 04:33 |
RobertMB |
Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
17-Apr-2012 08:54 |
RobertMB |
Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
02-May-2012 18:45 |
Geno |
Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Source, Narrative] |
05-Sep-2016 04:13 |
junior sjc |
Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Source, Narrative] |
07-Sep-2016 06:13 |
junior sjc |
Updated [Narrative] |
21-Dec-2016 19:28 |
ASN Update Bot |
Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
29-Oct-2017 19:39 |
junior sjc |
Updated [Location, Phase, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
27-Nov-2017 20:35 |
ASN Update Bot |
Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation