- Date
- June 21, 1988, 16:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Eldon, MO
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4490TPiper PA-28R-200
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 16, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880621022479A
- Case key
- 34591
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
Total failure of the powerplant due to an oil line rupture, and proper touchdown point not attained by the pilot in command.
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 business, cross-country flight, the private pilot said that he heard a popping noise followed by oil appearing on the windsheild. Shortly after the engine began to lose power, then quit. An emergency ldg was attempted on an airport, but the acft landed short of the runway, struck a fence and collided with the terrain. The acft came to rest about 25 feet from the runway. Post accident investigation revealed a broken engine oil line which resulted in loss of engine oil and subsequent total engine failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4490T
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28R-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R-7235071
- Airframe hours
- 2,526
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-C1C, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Paul W. Serfass
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 4, 1988 · 17 hours before
- Departed
- JEF · Jefferson City, MO
- Destination
- H00 · Bentonville, AR
- Airport
- H79 · Eldon, runway 18, 3,195 × 45 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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 79 total · 79 in this make and model · 41 as pilot in command · 32 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- JEF, 25 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.