- Date
- August 3, 1991, 10:10 local (15:10 UTC)
- Place
- Laredo, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8111RBeech K35
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 24, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910803031339A
- Case key
- 23383
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
The improper installation of the oil filter adaptor 'o' ring (seal) by other maintenance personnel who distorted it. A factor was the rough, uneven terrain.
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
While in cruise flight, the pilot noted an unsual smell which he thought might have been electrical or smoke. Shortly thereafter, the airplane's engine oil pressure decreased. The powerplant then started to vibrate and the pilot shut it off. The pilot was communicating with air traffic control and was attempting a precautionary landing at an airport when the forced landing occurred. The airplane was landed in an open field approximately one mile from the end of the runway that the pilot had been cleared to land on. The airplane flipped over during the landing roll on the unsuitable terrain. Post accident examination revealed that an 'o' ring in the oil filter adaptor assembly was crushed and the engine oil escaped at that damaged area causing the loss of power. No oil remained in the engine. The adaptor assembly had been worked on the day before the flight by other maintenance personnel.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8111R
- Reported as
- Beech K35
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D5940
- Airframe hours
- 3,114
- Engine
- Continental IO-470-C, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Dan R. Blaker
- Registered owner
- Dan R. Blaker
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 8, 1991 · 28 hours before
- Departed
- HRL · Harlingen, TX
- Destination
- 6R6 · Dryden, TX
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- LRD · Laredo International, runway 14, 5,926 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 43
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 698 total · 181 in this make and model · 619 as pilot in command · 26 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.