Accident Van's RV-10 N62DN,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 173781
 
This record has been locked for editing.

Date:Saturday 31 May 2014
Time:16:20
Type:Silhouette image of generic RV10 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Van's RV-10
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N62DN
MSN: 40546
Year of manufacture:2010
Total airframe hrs:375 hours
Engine model:Textron Lycoming O-540-B4B5
Fatalities:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:0.7 nm North of Toledo State Airport (5S4), Toledo, Oregon -   United States of America
Phase: En route
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Newport, OR (ONP)
Destination airport:Seattle, WA (BFI)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The pilot, who was also the builder of the experimental kit airplane, departed for a cross-country flight from his home airport. The passenger reported that, following a normal departure, the airplane continued the takeoff climb through some cloud wisps and ascended above a lower cloud cover with an overcast layer above. Suddenly, the engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot maneuvered the airplane toward the closest airport, but, when he realized that the airplane would not be able to glide to the airport, he attempted to make an off-airport landing. The airplane stalled and then collided with terrain in an open area of a paper mill. Ground scar analysis and wreckage fragmentation revealed that the airplane descended in a steep, near-vertical, nose-down, left-wing-down attitude before it impacted terrain.
The pilot installed a fuel flow transducer about 2 to 3 weeks before the accident and used heavy applications of room temperature vulcanization (RTV) silicone to seal the fuel lines. A friend of the pilot, who was also a mechanic, reported that he had observed the pilot about a year earlier using heavy applications of RTV silicone to seal parts during a condition inspection and that he had mentioned to the pilot that this was an improper practice. A bead of RTV silicone was found in the fuel line, and it is likely that it blocked the inlet of the transducer and starved the engine of fuel. Additionally, subsequent to the loss of engine power, the pilot failed to maintain sufficient airspeed while maneuvering to locate a suitable off-airport landing site and flew the airplane beyond its critical angle-of-attack, which resulted in a stall and loss of airplane control.

Probable Cause: A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation because of a blocked fuel line that resulted from the pilot’s improper maintenance practices and the pilot’s subsequent failure to maintain adequate airspeed while attempting a forced landing, which led to the airplane exceeding its critical angle-of-attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: WPR14FA218
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB

Location

Images:


Prior image of Douglas Nebert flying the same Nebert Vans RV-10, N62DN

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
12-Feb-2015 21:05 thefrow Added
21-Dec-2016 19:28 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
19-Nov-2017 11:23 harro Updated [Aircraft type, Cn]
29-Nov-2017 14:22 ASN Update Bot Updated [Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]

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