# Accident 19990116000519A: Amtr TAILWINDW8, Chula Vista, CA, January 16, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: January 16, 1999, 09:50 local time - Place: Chula Vista, CA - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 32.6400° N, 117.0842° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Chula Vista, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.6400&lon=-117.0842&mi=10 - Aircraft: N8188, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8188-2000-10-06) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Hanson Paul C HANSON TAILWIND W-8 (registry code 9790855, https://openairdocs.org/model/hanson-paul-c-hanson-tailwind-w-8) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AMTR TAILWINDW8 - Reported engine: LYC O290* - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 1,597 total, 1,379 in this make and model - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99LA075](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA075) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990116000519A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING AND FLIPPED OVER. OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN. (.19) ON JANUARY 16, 1999, AT 0950 HOURS PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, A PAUL C. HANSON TAILWIND W-8, N8188, EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER AND IMPACTED TERRAIN NEAR BROWN FIELD, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA. THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT, OPERATED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91, WAS DESTROYED. THE PRIVATE PILOT/OWNER/BUILDER AND ONE PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS EXISTED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT NO ABNORMALITIES WERE EXPERIENCED WITH THE TAKEOFF AND CLIMB OUT FROM BROWN FIELD. HE STATED THAT THEY FLEW THROUGH THE SAN DIEGO BAY VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) CORRIDOR AT 4,500 FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL) ON A 330-DEGREE HEADING. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THEY THEN FLEW OVER THE EAST END OF LINDBERGH FIELD AND MADE A TURN TO A HEADING OF 085 DEGREES AND DESCE NDED TO 3,500 FEET MSL. HE STATED THAT AT THIS POINT HE NOTED THE OIL TEMPERATURE WAS ABOVE REDLINE. AS THE DESCENT CONTINUED TO 3,000 FEET MSL, THE OIL TEMPERATURE DECREASED SLIGHTLY. HOWEVER, THE PILOT NOTED THAT THE CYLINDER HEAD TEMPERATURE, EXHAUST TEMPERATURE, AND THE PRESSURE "WERE IN THE THE GREEN." THE PILOT REPORTED THAT AT 0945 THE ENGINE "CLATTERED TO A STOP." HE STATED THAT HE SET UP FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING AND HIS PASSENGER PUT 7700 INTO THE TRANSPONDER. THE PILOT PICKED A FIELD IN WHICH TO LAND, AND REPORTED THAT THE PROPELLER WAS WINDMILLING UNTIL HE STARTED THE LANDING FLARE. AFTER LANDING, THE AIRCRAFT MOVED APPROXIMATELY 20 FEET BEFORE THE MAIN LANDING GEAR DUG INTO THE SOFT GROUND. THE AIRCRAFT CAME UP ON ITS NOSE AND THEN VAULTED VERTICALLY ONTO ITS TAIL, CONTINUING OVER IN A 360 DEGREE TURN BEFORE COMING TO REST UPRIGHT ON IT LANDING GEAR. THE PILOT STATED THAT BOTH HE AND HIS PASSENGER WERE ABLE TO EXIT THE AIRCRAFT UNAIDED. THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED THAT THERE WAS A MALFUNCTION WITH THE MAIN ENGINE BEARING WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY LEAD TO A LACK OF LUBRICATION IN THE ENGINE. THE FAA FURTHER REPORTED THAT ONE OF THE CONNECTING RODS SEPARATED FROM THE ENGINE CRANKSHAFT." (.4) THE PILOT REPORTED NO ABNORMALITIES DURING THE TAKEOFF AND CLIMBOUT FROM THE AIRPORT. AFTER CLIMBING TO 4,500 FEET MSL TO FLY A NORTHERLY HEADING THROUGH A VFR TERMINAL CONTROL AREA CORRIDOR, THE PILOT TURNED TO A NORTHEAST HEADING AND DESCENDED TO 3,500 FEET MSL AND NOTED THAT THE OIL TEMPERATURE WAS AT REDLINE. HE CONTINUED HIS DESCENT TO 3,000 FEET MSL AND OBSERVED THAT THE OIL TEMPERATURE HAD SLIGHTLY DECREASED. HE DID NOTE THAT ALL OTHER INSTRUMENTS WERE INDICATING NORMAL. APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES AFTER TAKEOFF THE ENGINE STOPPED. THE PILOT MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN AN OPEN FIELD; THE MAIN LANDING GEAR DUG INTO SOFT DIRT AND THE AIRCRAFT VAULTED VERTICALLY ONTO ITS TAIL AND CONTINUED IN A 360-DEGREE TURN BEFORE COMING TO REST UPRIGHT ON ITS LANDING GEAR. EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED THAT THE NUMBER 3 BEARING HAD MELTED, AND THE ASSOCIATED CONNECTING ROD HAD SEPARATED PUNCTURING THE ENGINE CASE. THE ENGINE SHOWED EVIDENCE OF A LACK OF LUBRICATION. ACCORDING TO THE ENGINE MANUFACTURER REPRESENTATIVE THIS ENGINE WAS MANUFACTURED IN THE 1940'S AS A GROUND POWER UNIT ONLY AND WAS NEVER INTENDED FOR AIRCRAFT USE. ## 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 LAX99LA075](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA075), Jan 16, 1999: Hanson Hanson Tailwind W-8 (N8188), Chula Vista, CA, destroyed. Probable cause: The loss of lubrication to the number 3 rod bearing and the resulting failure of the number 3 connecting rod. A contributing factor to the accident was the soft terrain at the accident location. 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.