- Date
- November 24, 2004, 12:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Davey, NE
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N191ASSpaulding Tailwind W-8
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20041124032899A
- Case key
- 60760
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The loss of engine power due to the loss of oil pressure as a result of the pilot's failure to properly install the oil line to the oil cooler. A factor was the rough terrain.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The amateur-built airplane sustained substantial damage during a forced landing to a field after a loss of power. The pilot reported that after 20 minutes of flight the engine RPM decreased and there was no oil pressure indication on the oil pressure instrument. The pilot executed a forced landing to a nearby field. During the landing rollout, the landing gear collapsed when the airplane went through a small gulley. The inspection of the engine revealed that an oil hose had blown off one end of the oil cooler. The pilot reported that he had removed the hose during maintenance. When he reinstalled the line on the oil cooler the hose did not get fully attached. He reported, "Evidently when the hose was replaced the end of the nipple stopped at the indentation in the hose caused by the clamp. When the clamp was replaced it was barely over the tip of the hose."
Factual narrative
On November 24, 2004, about 1200 central standard time, an amateur-built Spaulding Tailwind W-8, N191AS, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing to a field near Davey, Nebraska, after a loss of power. The private pilot was not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight departed Crete Municipal Airport, Crete, Nebraska, on a local flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan was filed.
The pilot reported that after 20 minutes of flight the engine RPM decreased and there was no oil pressure indication on the oil pressure instrument. The pilot executed a forced landing to a nearby field. During the landing rollout, the landing gear collapsed when the airplane went through a small gulley.
The inspection of the engine revealed that an oil hose had blown off one end of the oil cooler. The pilot reported that he had removed the hose during maintenance. When he reinstalled the line on the oil cooler the hose did not get fully attached. He reported, "Evidently when the hose was replaced the end of the nipple stopped at the indentation in the hose caused by the clamp. When the clamp was replaced it was barely over the tip of the hose."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N191AS
- Reported as
- Spaulding Tailwind W-8
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 91
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290-G, 120 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Alber Spaulding
- Registered owner
- Albert L. Spaulding
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- CEK · Crete, NE
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 71
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Last flight review
- December 8, 2003
- Flight hours
- 7 total · 618 in this make and model · 1,258 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.