ERA09LA481

The certificated flight instructor (CFI) and dual/student pilot were practicing maneuvers when the CFI noticed that the left main gear of the airplane was wet. As he looked for the source of the substance he noticed that the airplane’s oil pressure was critically low and immediately headed back to the airplane’s base. On the way, the engine came “to a halt with the propeller stopping” and the CFI elected to land in an empty section of a mall parking lot. The airplane’s nose landing gear contacted a curb and the right wing impacted a tree before coming to a stop. An examination of the wreckage revealed the fluid on the wheel to be oil leaking from the engine, which covered the bottom and empennage section of the airplane. A teardown examination of the engine found the No. 3 and No. 4 pistons with damage consistent with overheating and oil starvation. The lower portion of the No. 3 piston was destroyed. There was no internal or external evidence with the engine to account for the oil leak. The engine oil system was examined and found to be unremarkable. The CFI stated that a quart of oil was added, for a total 6.7 quarts of oil in the engine, prior to the accident flight.

On August 25, 2009, at 1215 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172RG, N6117R, crashed while making a force landing following loss of engine power in Rockaway, New Jersey. The airplane incurred substantial damage and the certified commercial pilot flight instructor (CFI) sustained minor injuries. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was operated by Air Fleet Training Systems, under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, as an instructional flight. The CFI stated, that during pre-flight inspection of the airplane he added one quart of oil to the engine, which had been at 5.7 quarts. He and the student pilot then departed from the Green Lake Airport (4N1), West Milford, New Jersey, and were about an hour into the flight when he noticed the left main wheel was wet. While trouble shooting the situation, he noticed that the engine oil pressure gauge was pointing to the red area, indicating low oil pressure. The CFI took over control of the airplane and retracted the landing gear to improve performance. He turned the airplane directly to their home base at the Essex County Airport (CDW), Caldwell, New Jersey and contacted the controller at CDW to advise of the situation. Minutes after the communication, the engine came “to a halt with the propeller stopping.” The airplane was about 1 mile east of the Rockaway Towne Center Mall, and the CFI elected to land in an empty section of the mall’s parking lot. The airplane’s nose landing gear made contact with a curb, which separated the gear, and the right wing impacted a tree before coming to a full stop. An examination of the wreckage revealed the fluid on the wheel to be oil leaking from the engine, which covered the bottom and empennage section of the airplane. The airplane was powered by a Lycoming O-360-F1A6 engine. The engine had a total time of 3,949 hours and 238 hours since its last overhaul, which occurred on September 28, 2006. A teardown examination of the engine was conducted with National Transportation Safety Board oversight. Several components of the #3 and #4 pistons showed signs of overheating and oil starvation, including the rod arms, bearing rods, and crankshaft attaching points. The #3 cylinder piston rod was found separated from the crankshaft with its crankshaft bearing missing and the lower section of the bearing rod destroyed. The #4 rod bearing showed initial indications of failure due to overheating. There was no internal or external evidence with the engine to account for the oil leak. The engine oil system was examined and found to be unremarkable.