- Date
- November 17, 1989, 19:30 local (Nov 18, 1989, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- Momence, IL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1809WBeech V35B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report June 26, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891117045959A
- Case key
- 14602
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
Gradual total failure of the powerplant due to oil exhaustion during a night cross country operation, and the subsequent gear-up forced landing on a frozen field.
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 aircraft was in cruise flight in night VFR conditions, operating on an IFR flight plan, when the engine started to run rough and the pilot noticed a loss of oil pressure. Cockpit troubleshooting procedures and atc's attempts to vector the aircraft to an alternate airport were unsuccessful. The engine failed completely, and the pilot made a night, gear-up forced landing in a plowed corn field. Post-accident examination of the aircraft revealed oil streaked along the left side of the fuselage, from the engine compartment to the tail section. Engine inspection/teardown revealed a hole in the crankcase at the #3 cylinder, a hole in the #2 cylinder piston at the piston rings, and virtually no usable oil remaining in the system. There was evidence of metal debris throughout the oil system, and the signs of overheating due to oil exhaustion.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1809W
- Reported as
- Beech V35B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D-9422
- Airframe hours
- 4,100
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-BA, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Hansen, Irvin & Constance
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 24, 1989 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- AGL · Pittsburg, PA
- Destination
- BNW · Boone, IA
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 48
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 559 total · 239 in this make and model · 474 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 290° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 27 °F, dew point 10 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MDW, 38 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.