# Accident 20000107007679A: Cessna 177B, Rialto, CA, January 7, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: January 7, 2000, 17:53 local time - Place: Rialto, CA - Airport: Rialto Municipal/Miro Field Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 34.1595° N, 117.3904° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.1595&lon=-117.3904&mi=10 - Aircraft: N34021, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N34021-2003-10-31) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 177B (registry code 2073708, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-177b) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 177B - Reported engine: LYC O360A1F6 - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 1,800 total, 1,400 in this make and model, 12 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX00LA069](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00LA069) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000107007679A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) ON JANUARY 7, 2000, AT APPROXIMATELY 1704 PST, A CESSNA 177 CARDINAL, N34021, DEPARTED WHITEMAN AIRPORT LOCATED IN PACOIMA, CALIFORNIA, ENROUTE TO REDLANDS, CALIFORNIA. THE PILOT EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF OIL PRESSURE, WHICH RESULTED IN ENGINE FAILURE DUE TO LOSS OF ENGONE OIL. THE PILOT LANDED SHORT OF RUNWAY 6 AT THE RIALTO AIRPORT, RIALTO, CALIFORNIA. THERE WAS NO INJURIES TO THE SOLE OCCUPANT BUT THE AIRCRAFT RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. (.4)ON JANUARY 7, 2000, AT 1753 HOURS PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 177B, N34021, EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DURING CRUISE FLIGHT AND FORCE LANDED AT THE RIALTO, CALIFORNIA, AIRPORT. THE AIRPLANE, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE PRIVATE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. THE PERSONAL CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT, CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91, ORIGINATED AT THE WHITEMAN AIRPORT, PACOIMA, CALIFORNIA, AT 1715, AND WAS EN ROUTE TO REDLANDS. NIGHT VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THIS WAS THE FIRST FLIGHT FOLLOWING AN OIL CHANGE. WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT, THE ENGINE BEGAN TO RUN ROUGHLY AND THE OIL PRESSURE DROPPED TO ZERO. THE ENGINE THEN LOST POWER. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO LAND AT THE AIRPORT, BUT TOUCHED DOWN SHORT OF RUNWAY 06 AND COLLIDED WITH A FENCE. THE AIRPLANE WAS EXAMINED ON JANUARY 12, 2000. THE BELLY OF THE AIRPLANE WAS STAINED WITH LARGE STREAKS OF OIL. THE ENGINE COWLING WAS REMOVED AND OIL WAS EVIDENT IN THE AREA OF THE OIL PRESSURE SCREEN HOUSING, REAR CASE, STREAMING AFT ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT AND ON THE FORWARD EDGE OF BOTH LANDING GEAR STRUTS. THE OIL LINES WERE SECURE AT THEIR RESPECTIVE FITTINGS AND NEITHER LINE DISPLAYED DRIPPING OR LEAKING OIL. THE OIL TANK WAS FOUND EMPTY. THERE WAS NO DISCERNIBLE TORQUE REQUIRED TO LOOSEN THE SCREWS THAT ATTACHED THE OIL PRESSURE SCREEN/VERNATHERM HOUSING. THE LYCOMING MAINTENANCE MANUAL INDICATED THAT THE TORQUE REQUIRED FOR THE OIL PRESSURE SCREEN HOUSING SCREWS WAS 96 INCH-POUNDS. THE LOCK WASHERS DID NOT EXHIBIT A "CRUSHED" APPEARANCE. OIL WAS POOLED UNDERNEATH THE SCREEN AREA, STREAMING DOWN TO THE BELLY OF THE AIRPLANE. DURING DISASSEMBLY, THE SUCTION SCREEN PLUG WAS FOUND TO BE SAFETY WIRED; HOWEVER, IT WAS FOUND "FINGER LOOSE." THE LYCOMING TORQUING PROCEDURES REQUIRE THAT THE PLUG BE "FINGER TIGHT, THEN TIGHTENED AN ADDITIONAL 135 DEGREES." THE PLUG WAS REMOVED FROM THE OIL SUMP. THE THICKNESS OF THE ANNULAR GASKET WAS MEASURED APPROXIMATELY 0.032 INCHES. ACCORDING TO LYCOMING, NOMINAL THICKNESS AFTER PROPER TORQUE APPLICATION SHOULD BE APPROXIMATELY 0.075 INCHES. FURTHER, IT IS A "ONE-TIME-USE" GASKET, AND SHOULD BE DISCARDED AFTER EACH REMOVAL AND REPLACED WITH A NEW ONE. A COPY OF THE INVOICE FOR THE OIL CHANGE FROM THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT IS APPENDED TO THIS FILE. THE STATEMENT ON THE INVOICE READS, "CHANGED OIL, AND TAKE OFF OIL FILTER TO CLEAN, CHECK THE GASKET AND REPLACED LOCK-WASHERS." A HOLE SLIGHTLY LESS THAN THE DIAMETER OF A QUARTER WAS FOUND BETWEEN THE PUSHROD TUBES IN THE LEFT HALF OF THE CRANKCASE AT THE NUMBER 2 CYLINDER LOCATION. THE AREA SURROUNDING THE HOLE IN THE CRANKCASE DID NOT EXHIBIT THE PRESENCE OF A LARGE QUANTITY OF OIL OR OIL RESIDUE. THE INSIDE OF THE COWLING COVERING THE NUMBER 2 CYLINDER DISPLAYED MINIMAL OIL SPRAY. THE ROCKER BOX COVERS WERE REMOVED AND EACH DISPLAYED MINIMAL OIL COVERAGE. THE NOS. 3 AND 4 CYLINDERS WERE REMOVED. THEY WERE CLEAN AND DISPLAYED NORMAL COMBUSTION DEPOSITS. THE NOS. 1 AND 2 CYLINDERS WERE REMOVED; THE CYLINDER BARRELS WERE DISTORTED. THE SPARK PLUGS W ERE REMOVED; THE CYLINDER BARRELS WERE DISTORTED. THE SPARK PLUGS WERE REMOVED; THEY EXHIBITED NORMAL COLOR AND WEAR PATTERNS CONSISTENT WITH THE CHAMPION CHECK-A-PLUG CHART. THE ENGINE COULD NOT BE ROTATED. THE AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE LOGBOOKS WERE REVIEWED. ACCORDING TO THE LOGBOOKS, THE ENGINE HAD BEEN OVERHAULED ON MARCH 26, 1999, APPROXIMATELY 83 HOURS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. THE AIRPLANE HAD UNDERGONE AN ANNUAL INSPECTION ON JUNE 1, 1999, ABOUT 67 HOURS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. THE LAST ENTRY IN THE LOGBOOK, DATED AUGUST 16, 1999, WAS FOR AN OIL CHANGE. THERE WAS NO ENTRY RECORDED IN THE LOGBOOKS FOR THE OIL CHANGE ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT. ## 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 LAX00LA069](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00LA069), Jan 8, 2000: Cessna 177B (N34021), Rialto, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The failure of the maintenance personnel to follow the manufacturer's procedures and directives regarding the proper torquing of the screws securing the oil pressure screen housing, which resulted in… 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.