- Date
- November 5, 2006, 11:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Wellsville, KS
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N26324Luscombe 8F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 26, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20061105022949A
- Case key
- 64819
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
A loss of engine power due to the ingestion of the number 2 intake valve into its cylinder. Contributing factors included the pilot allowing the airspeed and altitude to drop, making a safe landing not possible.
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 pilot said the engine made a loud "bang" approximately 10 minutes into the flight and lost power. The airplane was vibrating, so the pilot secured the engine and shut off the fuel supply. The pilot declared an emergency, then attempted to land in a bean field. The airplane had "insufficient speed and altitude" to clear a tree line and struck the trees. Engine disassembly revealed the number 2 intake valve had been completely "swallowed" into the cylinder. The engine had accrued 1,700.49 hours since overhaul. The rated time-between-overhaul for the Continental C-90-12F engine is 1,800 hours.
Factual narrative
On November 5, 2006, approximately 1100 central standard time, a Luscombe 8F, N26324, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when the it struck trees and impacted terrain following a loss of power during landing approach to a field in Wellsville, Kansas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot, the sole occupant aboard, was not injured. The cross-country flight originated from Ottawa, Kansas, approximately 1030, and was en route to Gardner Kansas.
According to a telephone interview and the pilot's accident report, the engine made a loud "bang" approximately 10 minutes into the flight and lost power. The airplane was vibrating, so the pilot secured the engine. The pilot declared an emergency, then attempted to land in a bean field. The airplane had "insufficient speed and altitude" to clear a tree line and struck the trees. Both wings were extensively damaged and the fuselage was crumpled.
An FAA inspector responded to the accident site and reported the engine oil "at a normal level." Examination of the maintenance records revealed the following:
Last annual inspection: November 9, 2005
Current tachometer time: 2,066.12 hours
Aircraft total time: 17,731.9 hours
Time since overhaul (TSO): 1,700.49 hours
Overhaul date: Unknown
Rated overhaul time: 1,800 hours
Engine disassembly revealed the number 2 intake valve had been completely "swallowed" into the cylinder. The engine had accrued 1,700.49 hours since overhaul. The rated time-between-overhaul for the Continental C-90-12F engine is 1,800 hours.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N26324
- Reported as
- Luscombe 8F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 6728
- Airframe hours
- 17,732
- Engine
- Continental C-90-12F, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Michael W. Dann
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 2005 · 29 hours before
- Departed
- OWI · Ottawa, KS
- Destination
- K34 · Gardner, KS
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
- 56
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 1, 2006
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 465 total · 32 in this make and model · 403 as pilot in command · 27 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.19 inHg
- Observed at
- IXD
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.