Moore ONEX N1950J

Summary

On 10 January 2016 at about 19:35 local time, a Moore ONEX registered N1950J was involved in an accident near Fresno, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 January 2016 at 19:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Fresno, California, United States

Nearest airport

Fresno Chandler Executive Apt (FCH)

Coordinates

36.7322, -119.8203

Aircraft

Moore ONEX

Registration

N1950J

Category

Airplane

Year built

2011

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fresno → Fresno

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR16LA050

1 person died.

The pilot/builder's failure to properly align the Force One Main Bearing, which resulted in a blockage of the oil transfer hole and culminated with a total engine power loss. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to arrest the bank and sink rate prior to impact.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot/builder was carrying out the initial flight test after recently building the amateur experimental airplane. Shortly after takeoff, the airplane's engine experienced a total power loss and the pilot initiated a descending left turn in order to avoid an airport fence. Subsequently, the airplane impacted terrain, in a nose down attitude with the left wing low. An examination of the engine revealed that the Force One Main Bearing seized to the crankshaft. Further, there were multiple circular impressions on the bearing surface. Based on this evidence, it is likely that while building the experimental engine, the pilot did not properly align the Force One Main Bearing, and the oil feed hole was inadvertently used as the dowel pin hole, which resulted in a blockage of the oil transfer hole, thus preventing oil into the bearing and resulted in engine seizure and total power loss.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.