Mooney M20B N74503

Summary

On 18 March 2007 at about 00:00 local time, a Mooney M20B registered N74503 was involved in an accident near St. George, Utah, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 March 2007 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

St. George, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

St. George (KSGU)

Coordinates

37.0406, -113.6008

Aircraft

Mooney M20B

Registration

N74503

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St. George → Blackfoot

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX07LA114

Nobody was injured.

Oil contamination of the right magneto. Factors were the airplane owner's failure to comply with manufacturer's service bulletins and overhaul porcedures.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

Ten minutes after takeoff the airplane's engine started running rough, and the airplane collided with terrain during a forced landing into an open area. The pilot leveled the airplane at 6,500 feet for cruise and the engine started running rough and backfiring. The engine would run sporadically rough then smooth out. The pilot executed emergency procedures, switched fuel tanks, and switched on the boost pump, but there was no change in the engine's rough-running condition. He decided to return to the airport, and configured the airplane for best glide. He setup for a 2-mile final to runway 34. The pilot determined that he was not going to make the runway, and force landed the airplane in a clear area by a river bed. An examination of the engine determined that the right magneto contained engine oil. The seal between the engine accessory drive and the magneto was hard, loose fitting, and covered with engine oil. Examination of the engine maintenance logbook revealed that the engine had been manufactured new on February 8, 1979, and installed on the airplane April 13, 1979. A 9-year gap where no maintenance was recorded on the engine occurred between October 1992 (engine total time of 1302.9 hours) and July 2002 (engine total time of 1322.39 hours). A 100-hour inspection was recorded as being completed on July 2, 2002. The most recent 100-hour inspection was performed on June 22, 2006, at 1,439.1 hours total time. There is no record of an engine or magneto overhaul. Lycoming Service Instruction No. 1009AS states that engines that do not accumulate the hourly period of time between overhauls specified (2,000 hours for the O-360-A1D) are recommended to be overhauled in the twelfth year. Teledyne Continental Ignition systems Service Bulletin, SB643B, for all TCM and Bendix magnetos states that the magnetos must be overhauled or replaced at the expiration of 5 years since the date of original manufacture or last overhaul, or 4 years since the date the magneto was placed in service, which ever occurs first with out regard to accumulated operating hours.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.