# NTSB DEN01LA149: Piper PA-32RT-300, N3015L, Rock Springs, WY, August 18, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 18, 2001, 07:30 local (13:30 UTC) - Place: Rock Springs, WY - Coordinates: 41.590316, -109.220184 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.5903&lon=-109.2202&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 4 uninjured - Status: Completed, report July 25, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Textron Lycoming, FAA FSDO - ADs cited in the narratives: [AD 2000-18-53](https://openairdocs.org/ad/2000-18-53) (OpenAirDocs) - NTSB case key (mKey): 53080 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN01LA149 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/53080/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN01LA149 ## Probable cause the mechanic's failure to perform an airworthiness directive, which resulted in the loss of engine oil through a partially failed oil filter converter plate gasket, and subsequent failure of a connecting rod during cruise flight. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the ensuing forced landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - mech failure/malf, cruise - maintenance,compliance with ad - not performed, other maintenance personnel (cause) - lubricating system,oil gasket - failure,partial (cause) - lubricating system - leak (cause) - engine assembly,connecting rod - failure (cause) - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, emergency landing - terrain condition - rough/uneven - terrain condition - none suitable (contributing factor) ## Analysis The private pilot was flying the single-engine airplane in cruise flight, when the "aircraft experienced a prop[eller] runaway and loss of oil pressure." The engine began to lose power, so the pilot established the aircraft in a glide toward a dirt road. At 700 feet agl, "a connecting rod poked through the cowling and oil covered the windshield." Due to reduced vision and the unknown condition of the roadway, the pilot elected to make a landing gear retracted landing. The airplane came to rest upright on the shoulder of the road. Examination of the engine revealed that there was no oil present in the engine. The oil filter converter plate gasket was found protruding from around the adapter plate, and a 1/4-inch section of the gasket was missing. An Airworthiness Directive (AD) was issued that addressed the oil filter converter plate gasket on engines that had been factory overhauled after April 1, 1999. The AD required the replacement of the oil filter converter plate gasket before further flight on engines with more than 50 hours time since new, time since overhaul, or time since the last replacement of the gasket or converter plate, and thereafter every 50 hours time in service since the last replacement of the gasket. Non compliance with the AD could result in the protruding or swelling of the converter plate gasket and subsequent loss of engine oil. The engine had been factory overhauled and shipped from the factory on February 18, 2000. At the time of the accident, the engine had accumulated 425 hours since the overhaul. Examination of the engine maintenance records revealed that the AD had not been previously complied with. ## Factual narrative On August 18, 2001, at 0730 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-32RT-300 single-engine airplane, N3015L, was substantially damaged during a forced landing on a dirt road following a loss of engine power approximately 30 miles northeast of Rock Springs, Wyoming. The airplane was registered to Ten Hi Flyers , Inc., of Lakewood, Colorado and was operated by the pilot. The private pilot and his three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for this personal flight from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to Pinedale, Wyoming, which was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight departed Steamboat Springs at 0615, and no flight plan was filed. According to the pilot's written statement, the flight was approximately 20 miles north of Rock Springs, when the "aircraft experienced a prop[eller] runaway and loss of oil pressure." The pilot elected to divert towards Rock Springs; however, the engine began to lose power. The pilot was established in a glide toward a dirt road, when at 700 feet agl, "a connecting rod poked through the cowling and oil covered the windshield." Due to reduced vision and the unknown condition of the roadway, the pilot elected to make a landing gear retracted landing. The airplane came to rest upright on the shoulder of the road. According to an aircraft mechanic who reviewed the aircraft's damage, the aircraft's firewall sustained structural damage. The pilot reported that the airplane underwent its last annual inspection on October 25, 2000 and had accumulated 228 hours since that annual. The Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D engine was factory overhauled and shipped from the factory on February 18, 2000. According to the pilot, the engine had accumulated 425 hours since the overhaul. According to Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2000-18-53, which was issued on September 5, 2000, any Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D engine that had been manufactured new, rebuilt, overhauled, or had the oil filter converter plate (part number LW-13904) or gasket (part number LW-13388) replaced, after April 1, 1999, had to comply with the AD. The AD required the replacement of the oil filter converter plate gasket before further flight on engines with more than 50 hours time since new, time since overhaul, or time since the last replacement of the gasket or converter plate, and thereafter every 50 hours time in service since the last replacement of the gasket. The AD was issued after the FAA received reports of certain oil filter converter plate gaskets extruding from the seat of the oil filter converter plate. The protruding or swelling of the gasket was allowing oil to leak from between the oil filter converter plate and the accessory housing. This condition, if not corrected, could result in complete loss of engine oil and subsequent seizing of the engine and possible fire. On August 29, 2001, the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) and a representative from the engine manufacturer examined the engine at Beegles Aircraft Services, Greeley, Colorado. According to the engine representative, the engine displayed a "large hole in the left side of the crankcase in the area of the #4 connecting rod and cylinder base attach point." There was no oil present in the oil reservoir. Examination of the engine accessory section revealed that the oil filter converter plate gasket was extruding out past the adapter plate. The oil filter and oil filter converter plate were removed. The oil filter converter plate gasket displayed "deterioration" and "approximately 1/4-inch" of gasket was missing. Review of the aircraft's maintenance records by the NTSB IIC and the engine representative revealed no record that the aforementioned AD had been complied with. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N3015L](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3015L-2005-07-15), registration cancelled 2005-07-15, S/N 32R-7985067, built 1979 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-32RT-300 - Registry model: [Piper PA-32RT-300](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32rt-300) (registry code 7103215) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (registry code 41530, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 32R-7985067 - Airframe hours: 2520 - Engines: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Ronald J. McLaughlin - Registered owner: Ten Hi Flyers, INC. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, October 25, 2000, 228 hours before - Departed: SBS, Steamboat Sprgs, CO - Destination: PNA, Pinedale, WY ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 47; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review June 2, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 2,200 total, 100 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 280° at 15 knots - Visibility: 50 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 64 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20010818023889A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010818023889A), Aug 18, 2001: Piper PA32RT300, Rocksprings, WY, No damage. (-23) After the engine failed, the pilot could not see well as oil was covering the windscreen, he elected to land gear up on a dirt road. ## Other investigations on N3015L (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 DEN05FA066](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN05FA066), Apr 7, 2005: Piper PA-32RT-300 (N3015L), Broomfield, CO, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during landing. Contributing factor's included the quartering tailwind, and the pilot's inadequate in-flight decision making. 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. --- 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.