- Date
- June 5, 1988, 10:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Grand Canyon, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2131NPiper PA-28RT-201T
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 16, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880605017869A
- Case key
- 26025
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
Failure of the an tee fitting, thereby allowing the oil to be pumped overboard causing the engine failure. The failure of the tee fitting was caused by the tie wrap used to secure the line. The tie wrap pulled the oil line and stressed one side of the tee fitting. Contributing to this accident was the mechanics failure to follow the approved Piper procedures for the installation of a oil pressure operated hobbs meter.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2131N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28RT-201T (PA-28RT-20)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R-7921045
- Airframe hours
- 1,702
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-360-FB, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Douglas Cunningham
- Registered owner
- Tur-Dak Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 19, 1988 · 40 hours before
- Departed
- 1W1 · Denver, CO
- Destination
- P06 · Bullhead City, AZ
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 517 total · 370 in this make and model · 411 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 17 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GCN, 7 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.