# Accident 19980808029929A: Amtr RV6, Bainbridge, GA, August 8, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: August 8, 1998, 14:20 local time - Place: Bainbridge, GA - Airport: Decatur County Industrial Airp - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 30.9716° N, 84.6369° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at DECATUR COUNTY INDUSTRIAL AIR PARK (BGE), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.9716&lon=-84.6369&mi=10 - Aircraft: N245DF, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N245DF-1999-01-20) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Fellows Dean R RV-6 (registry code 05605BE, https://openairdocs.org/model/fellows-dean-r-rv-6) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AMTR RV6 - Reported engine: LYC O360A1A - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 5,000 total, 69 in this make and model, 24 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL98LA108](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL98LA108) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980808029929A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED MOBILE, ALA. AT APPROXIMATELY 1200 LOCAL TIME ENROUTE TO HERNANDO COUNTY, FL. SEE NARRATIVE # ATL98LA108 (.4) ON AUGUST 8, 1998, ABOUT 1420 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A DEAN R. FELLOWS VANS RV-6, HOMEBUILT AIRPLANE, N245DF, COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN DURING AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN BAINBRIDGE, GEORGIA. THE AIRPLANE WAS OPERATED BY THE COMMERCIAL PILOT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CFR PART 91, AND VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR). VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE PILOT SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES, AND THE AIRPLANE RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED MOBILE, ALABAMA, AT 1200. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, WHILE AT 17,000 FEET MSL, HE NOTED THE ONSET OF A VIBRATION IN THE AIRPLANE. HE STATED THAT HE CHECKED THE ENGINE INSTRUMENTS AND NOTED THE OIL PRESSURE, TEMPERATURE AND OTHER ENGINE INSTRUMENTS WERE STABLE IN THE NORMAL OPERATING RANGE. AFTER DESCENDING AND NOTING THE VIBRATION WAS STABLE, THE PILOT ELECTED TO CONTINUE ON TO HIS DESTINATION. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, AFTER APPROXIMATELY FIVE MINUTES OF LEVEL FLIGHT AT 3,000 FEET, OIL BEGAN LEAKING FROM THE FORWARD SECTION OF THE ENGINE AND BLOWING BA CK ON THE WINDSHIELD. WITH THE OIL OBSCURING HIS VISION, THE PILOT MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN AN OPEN GRASS FIELD. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, UPON LANDING, THE LANDING GEAR CONTACTED AN UNDETERMINED OBJECT ALLOWING THE CENTER SECTION OF FUSELAGE TO COLLAPSE. THE AIRPLANE WAS OUTFITTED WITH A LYCOMING O-360-A1A ENGINE WHICH CAN SUPPORT EITHER A CONSTANT SPEED PROPELLER OR, AFTER MODIFICATIONS ARE PERFORMED, A FIXED PITCH PROPELLER. IN ORDER FOR THE AIRPLANE TO BE OUTFITTED WITH A FIXED PITCH PROPELLER, THE FOLLOWING ENGINE MODIFICATION MUST BE PERFORMED (AS PER LYCOMING SERVICE INSTRUCTION NO. 1435); "WHEN CHANGING FROM A CONSTANT SPEED TO A FIXED PITCH PROPELLER, IT IS NECESSARY TO PIERCE A 1/8" TO 3/16" HOLE IN (OR REMOVE) THE PLUG BEHIND THE OIL RETURN TUBE, AND INSTALL AN EXPANSION PLUG IN THE FRONT OF THE CRANKSHAFT. IF THE CRANKSHAFT INCORPORATES A 1/8" 1102 PIPE PLUG, IT MUST BE REMOVED WHEN MAKING THIS CONVERSION." DURING EXAMINATION OF THE WOODEN PROPELLER ASSEMBLY, SEVERE CHAFING AND METAL TRANSFER WAS NOTED ON THE MATING SURFACES OF THE PROPELLER HUB, HUB SPACER, SPINNER SUPPORT, RING GEAR SUPPORT AND CRANK FLANGE. EXAMINATION OF THE PROPELLER MOUNTING BOLTS FOUND ONE OF THE SIX BOLTS MISSING, THREE OF THE FIVE REMAINING BOLTS WERE BROKEN ABOUT MID-SHANK AND THE TWO UNBROKEN BOLTS WERE BENT. AS FOUND, TWO OF THE UNBROKEN BOLTS WERE PARTIALLY UNTHREADED FROM THE FLANGE BUSHINGS. THE FRONT CRANKSHAFT PLUG WAS FOUND AJAR AND OIL WAS EVIDENT ON THE ENGINE COWLING AND WINDSHIELD. A NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD FORM 6120.1/2 WAS NOT RECEIVED FROM THE PILOT. ## 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 ATL98LA108](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL98LA108), Aug 8, 1998: Dean R. Fellows Vans RV-6 (N245DF), Bainbridge, GA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to properly modify the crankshaft per the manufacturers service instructions for installation of a fixed pitch propeller and to apply proper torque values to the propellers… 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.