Diamond DA 40 N419JS

Summary

On 13 September 2008 at about 17:00 local time, a Diamond DA 40 registered N419JS, operated by Brian Curry, was involved in an incident near San Carlos, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 September 2008 at 17:00

Classification

Incident

Location

San Carlos, California, United States

Coordinates

37.5119, -122.2494

Aircraft

Diamond DA 40

Registration

N419JS

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Brian Curry

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Carlos → San Carlos

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA08IA217

Nobody was injured.

The improper assembly of the governor during manufacture.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed on a local area flight when the engine had higher than normal RPMs. The pilot elected to return to the departure airport and his mechanic inspected the airplane. The mechanic discovered a blister in the engine casing and fragments of metal in the oil. The engine was then disassembled and a ball bearing from the propeller governor was located in the engine which had the potential of resulting in a catastrophic engine failure. Examination of the engine showed that the ball bearings from the governor were able to pass through the oil drain hole of the governor. Follow up examinations of the propeller governor showed that the governor bearing race and plunger were assembled with the bearing race set screw and plunger hole misaligned. When the bearing race set screw was torqued down, the set screw tip flattened against the harder plunger surface. During operation, the set screw/plunger race separated.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.