# Incident 19971222043699I: Piper PA28R200, Kerman, CA, December 22, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 22, 1997, 09:48 local time
- Place: Kerman, CA
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.7253° N, 120.0636° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Kerman, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.7253&lon=-120.0636&mi=10
- Aircraft: N15428 (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28R200
- Reported engine: LYC IO360C1C
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,900 total, 1,600 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971222043699I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1997, AT 0948 PST, A PIPER ARROW, PA-28R-200, N15428, HAD AN ENGINE FAILURE 15 NM WEST OF THE FRESNO YOSEMITE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AT 4000 FEET WHILE ON AN IFR CLEARANCE AND BEING RADAR VECTORED TO THE MERCED AIRPORT. THE PILOT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY TO FRESNO/TRACON AND LANDED HIS AIRPLANE ON A DIRT ROAD 15 MILES WEST OF FRESNO IN THE TOWN OF KERMAN. THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOT DAMAGED AND THE PILOT DID NOT SUSTAIN ANY INJURIES. THE ENGINE FAILED DUE TO LOSS OF OIL. THE INVESTIGATION SHOWED THAT THE OIL COULD HAVE DRAINED OUT OF THE ENGINE WHEN THE GEAR WAS RETRACTED, A HEATER HOSE THAT WAS DETACHED GOT LODGED BETWEEN THE OIL PAN QUICK DRAIN PLUG AND THE NOSE WHEEL. THIS CAUSED A PARTIAL OFF SEATING OF THE PLUG.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.