- Date
- May 26, 1983, 23:30 local (May 27, 1983, 05:30 UTC)
- Place
- Ennis, MT
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9975DPiper PA-22-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830526021929A
- Case key
- 16080
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
During a night flight, oil began spreading over the windshield & heavy smoke came in the cockpit through the cabin heater. The plt opened the cabin windows, reduced power & turned back toward the arpt. The oil pressure dropped to 5 PSI & the plt descended to land on a road which could be seen on the moonlit night. Reportedly, the engine began to 'rattle' as the acft neared the ground. The plt lined up with the road, but lost sight of it momentarily due to clouds obscuring the moon. Just before landing, he saw a guy wire & maneuvered the plane to avoid a collision. The acft stalled & hit a ditch, then the nose & left main gear sheared off. The acft continued thru bushes, hit a fence & nosed over. An investigation revealed that 2 oil lines had rubbed together until 1 had worn thru. The oil lines should have been protected by a rubber spacer & a clamp. Either the clamp had failed or had not been installed. Subsequently, the rubber spacer had moved & allowed the lines to rub together.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9975D
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-6766
- Airframe hours
- 1,597
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Delane M. Hall
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 3, 1982 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- BZN · Bozeman, MT
- Destination
- VOI · American Falls, ID
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
- 54
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,084 total · 60 in this make and model · 1,029 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- 150° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BZN, 32 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.
Other investigations on N9975D · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.