Cessna 182F N5738F

Summary

On 7 August 2015 at about 05:10 local time, a Cessna 182F registered N5738F, operated by Pacific Coast Flyers, was involved in an accident near Montecito, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 August 2015 at 05:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Montecito, California, United States

Coordinates

34.6444, -119.5389

Aircraft

Cessna 182F

Registration

N5738F

Category

Airplane

Year built

1963

Engines

1

Operator

Pacific Coast Flyers

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Luis Obispo → Carlsbad

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

WPR15FA236

2 people died.

Oil starvation that led to the failure of the No. 5 connecting rod and a subsequent loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was conducting a cross-country business flight. While en route to the destination airport, the pilot reported to an air traffic controller that they were going to lose an engine. The flight was over mountainous terrain; the controller provided nearby airports to the pilot, and the pilot chose a diversionary airport. The pilot then reported that the airplane was experiencing vibrations and that he could not see anything due to oil on his windscreen, as well as smoke that had entered into the cabin. The controller told the pilot that he would report an emergency for him; no further communications were received from the pilot. The airplane was located the following morning in mountainous terrain. The airplane struck a mountain at an elevation of 3,554 ft. On-site examination of the wreckage revealed that the airplane came to rest inverted with the undercarriage covered in oil from the nose to the tail. An examination of the airframe revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The engine teardown examination revealed a hole in the engine crankcase above the No. 6 connecting rod. The No. 5 connecting rod had fractured and separated from the crankshaft, which caused internal damage to the engine and led to the loss of engine power. The internal components exhibited signs of oil starvation; however, the cause of the oil starvation could not be determined. Although a small amount of ethanol was detected in the pilot's cavity blood, no ethanol was detected in the vitreous or urine, indicating that the detected ethanol was likely due to postmortem production and did not contribute to the accident. Although the pilot's tissue samples tested positive for small amounts of the inactive metabolite of marijuana, no active drug was detected in the pilot's blood; therefore, the pilot was likely not experiencing significant effects from his marijuana use at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.