# Incident 20030312009289I: Piper PA32301T, Simi Valley, CA, March 12, 2003

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 12, 2003, 10:40 local time
- Place: Simi Valley, CA
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.2694° N, 118.7815° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Simi Valley, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.2694&lon=-118.7815&mi=10
- Aircraft: N81573, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N81573) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32-301T (registry code 7103209, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-301t) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA32301T
- Reported engine: LYC TIO540*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030312009289I

## Narrative

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

(-23) AIRCRAFT FLYING OVER SIMI VALLEY CA. WHEN PILOT NOTICED OIL PRESSURE GAGE INDICATED NO OIL PRESSURE AND LOW OIL ANNUNCIATOR ILLUMINATED. PILOT RADIOED VAN NUYS (VNY) TOWER AND WAS CLEARED TO LAND ON ANY RUNWAY AT VNY. APPROXIMATELY FOUR MINUTES LATER ENGINE'S RPM WAS FLUCTUATING AND ENGINE WAS LOSING POWER. PILOT WAS ADVISED TO LAND IN THE CHATSWORTH DRY RESERVOIR. PILOT LANDED ON A DIRT ROAD IN THE RESERVOIR WITHOUT INCIDENT. PILOT EXITED AIRCRAFT AND NOTICED OIL ALL OVER THE BELLY OF THE AIRCRAFT, AND NO OIL IN THE OIL DIPSTICK. AIRCRAFT WAS SENT TO SAN DIEGO CA. FOR EXAMINATION. AFTER EXAMINATION IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE VACUUM PUMP GASKET HAD A CRACK IN IT, AND WAS THE CAUSE OF THE LOSS OF OIL. AN M & D REPORT WAS FILED.

## Other reports on N81573 (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19820328013219I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19820328013219I), Mar 28, 1982: Piper PA32301T (N81573), Lexington Park, MD, Substantial damage. Bent nose strut, propeller, engine mounts, and firewall on hard, nose first landing.

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.

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