Beechcraft A36TC N3707Z

Summary

On 2 August 1988 at about 04:17 local time, a Beechcraft A36TC registered N3707Z was involved in an accident near Vega, Texas, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

2 August 1988 at 04:17

Classification

Accident

Location

Vega, Texas, United States

Coordinates

35.2407, -102.4208

Aircraft

Beechcraft A36TC

Registration

N3707Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Denver → Midland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

FTW88LA142

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE AIRPLANE WAS ON A NIGHT CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT WHEN ENGINE OIL STARTED TO APPEAR ON THE WINDOWS. THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO GET THE AIRPLANE TO AN AIRPORT BEFORE THE OIL PRESSURE WENT TO ZERO. AFTER LOSS OF OIL PRESSURE, THE ENGINE STARTED TO VIBRATE, AND THE PROPELLER SEPARATED FROM THE ENGINE. WITH NO FORWARD VISIBILITY AND VERY LITTLE SIDE VISIBILITY, THE PILOT MADE A FORCED LANDING ON A HIGHWAY SERVICE ROAD; HOWEVER, DURING THE LANDING ROLL, THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED HIGHWAY SIGNS AND REFLECTORS. THE PILOT SAID THERE WAS A FIRE ON THE HIGHWAY, BEHIND THE AIRPLANE, BUT IT NEVER REACHED THE AIRPLANE. A TEARDOWN OF THE ENGINE REVEALED A FAILURE OF THE CRANKSHAFT THAT WAS INITIATED BY A PRE-EXISTING FATIGUE CRACK. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT OPENING OF THE FATIGUE CRACK LED TO GRADUAL LOSS OF LUBRICATING OIL, THEN SEPARATION OF THE PROPELLER.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.