# Accident 19980712016549A: Beech 23, Elma, WA, July 12, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 12, 1998, 17:26 local time - Place: Elma, WA - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 46.8308° N, 123.2806° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.8308&lon=-123.2806&mi=10 - Aircraft: N8719M, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8719M-2002-05-01) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Beech 23 (registry code 1151202, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-23) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BEECH 23 - Reported engine: LYC O320D2B - People aboard: 3 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 533 total, 121 in this make and model, 8 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA98LA133](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98LA133) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980712016549A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23)PILOT EXPERIENCED ROUGH ENGINE DURING CRUISE POWER, WITH A FOLLOWING LOSS OF POWER. COULD NOT MAINTAIN ALTITUDE. DECLARED EMERGENCY LANDED IN CORN FIELD. (.4) ON JULY 12, 1998, APPROXIMATELY 1726 PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A BEECH 23, N8719M, REGISTERED TO AND BEING FLOWN BY A PRIVATE PILOT, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING AN OFF AIRPORT FORCED LANDING FOLLOWING AN ABRUPT LOSS OF ENGINE POWER THREE NAUTICAL MILES NORTHWEST OF OAKVILLE, WASHINGTON. THE PILOT AND HIS TWO PASSENGERS WERE UNINJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED. THE FLIGHT, WHICH WAS PERSONAL, AND DESTINED FOR ELMA, WASHINGTON, WAS TO HAVE BEEN OPERATED UNDER 14CFR91, AND ORIGINATED FROM AURORA, OREGON, APPROXIMATELY 1620. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT WHILE ABOUT TEN MILES SOUTHEAST OF ELMA, THE ENGINE STARTED VIBRATING VIOLENTLY AND LOSING POWER WITHOUT WARNING. HE HAD NO SUCCESS AT RESTORING POWER USING EMERGENCY PROCEDURES. HE STATED THAT HE DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND, UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ALTITUDE, HE EXECUTED A FORCED LANDING IN A SOFT OPEN FIELD OF 12 INCH HIGH CORN. DURING THE ROLL-OUT, THE NOSE LANDING GEAR SEPARATED AND THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED. THE ENGINE WAS INSPECTED AT A MAINTENANCE FACILITY AT OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON. DURING TEARDOWN OF THE ENGINE, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE EXHAUST VALVE ON THE NUMBER 3 CYLINDER HAD FAILED, WITH THE VALVE HEAD BROKEN OFF JUST BELOW THE TULIP. THIS VALVE WAS OF THE HOLLOW SODIUM-FILLED TYPE. THE AIRCRAFT'S ENGINE LOGBOOK (KEPT WITH THE AIRPLANE) CONTAINED A NOTE DATED SEPTEMBER 11, 1995, AT A TACHOMETER READING OF 1790 HOURS, AND REPORTING THAT THE PREVIOUS LOG BOOKS HAD BEEN LOST. AN ANNUAL INSPECTION WAS PERFORMED THAT DATE, AND THERE WAS A NOTE THAT THE O-320-D2B ENGINE, SERIAL NUMBER L-5772-39, WAS 790 HOURS PAST ITS MAJOR OVERHAUL. A LATER LOG ENTRY (MAY 7, 1996) INDICATED THAT THIS TIME SINCE OVERHAUL HAD BEEN CORRECTED FROM 790 HOURS TO 867 HOURS AT A TACHOMETER READING OF 1817. THIS LOG ENTRY INDICATED THAT THE ENGINE WAS OVERHAULED ON DECEMBER 2, 1966, BY FLIGHTCRAFT, PORTLAND, OREGON. THE STEM OF THE FAILED EXHAUST VALVE WAS DIMENSIONALLY CHECKED AT .433 INCHES IN DIAMETER, OR A NOMINAL DIMENSION FOR 7/16 INCH VALVES (MEASURED AT THE VALVE STEM). THE AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES (AD) LISTING IN THE RECONSTRUCTED LOG BOOKS FOR THE ENGINE NOTED THAT AD 63-23-02 "EXHAUST VALVES AND GUIDES DNA (DOES NOT APPLY) BY SN (SERIAL NUMBER)." AD 63-23-02 REQUIRES RECURRENT INSPECTION AND REPLACEMENT OF VALVES AND/OR VALVE GUIDES AT INTERVALS OF A MAXIMUM OF 500 HOURS, DEPENDING UPON THE OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE AIRPLANE, AND DEPENDING UPON THE PART NUMBER OF THE CAMSHAFT IN THE ENGINE. THAT AD REFERS TO LYCOMING SB (SERVICE BULLETIN) 293B, WHICH LISTS, IN PART, THAT THE APPLICABILITY OF THIS AD INCLUDED -D SERIES ENGINES WITH SERIAL NUMBERS OF 5086-39 AND UP. NO RECORD OF COMPLIANCE WITH THIS AD NOTE PRIOR TO THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE LOG BOOKS WAS FOUND, AND NO RECORD WAS FOUND AS TO WHICH CAMSHAFT WAS INSTALLED AT THE REPORTED OVERHAUL. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB SEA98LA133](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98LA133), Jul 13, 1998: Beech 23 (N8719M), Oakville, WA, substantial damage. Probable cause: Loss of power due to the failure of an exhaust valve, and overloading of the landing gear. Factors include the failure of maintenance personnel to verify proper compliance with an Airworthiness… 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.