Beechcraft E33 N7697N

Summary

On 25 February 2025 at about 18:00 local time, a Beechcraft E33 registered N7697N was involved in an accident near Lenoir, North Carolina, United States. One person was 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

25 February 2025 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Lenoir, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Lowe Creek (NC27)

Coordinates

35.9346, -81.4999

Aircraft

Beechcraft E33

Registration

N7697N

Category

Airplane

Year built

1968

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wadesboro → Somerset

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA25LA157

Nobody was injured.

The mechanic’s inadequate annual inspection of the airplane and failure to comply with an applicable airworthiness directive, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to oil starvation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After an annual inspection on the airplane, the pilot was repositioning to his home airport. About 45 minutes into the cross-country flight, the engine rpm increased. The pilot reduced the rpm but about 5 minutes later the rpm increased again. The pilot tried to adjust the rpm again but the second time it would not adjust. He decided to land at the nearest airport but about 5 minutes later, the engine sustained a catastrophic failure, with engine parts exiting from the top of the engine cowling. The pilot glided to an airport and landed long and fast on a grass runway. The airplane departed the end of the runway and contacted a fence, resulting in substantial damage to both wings. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the oil filter adapter was loose, and the gasket was split open, which allowed the oil to leak out from the engine. The lack of oil likely resulted the propeller governor decreasing the propeller blade angle and increasing the rpm. The lack of oil to the crankshaft and bearing journals also likely resulted in heat buildup and fracture the Nos. 5 and 6 connecting rods due to oil starvation. The airplane’s most recent annual inspection had been completed about 1 month, and less than 5 operational hours before the accident flight. The engine and oil filter adapter installed on the accident airplane were the subject of an airworthiness directive (AD) that had been issued nearly 3 years before the annual inspection. The AD was prompted by previous losses of engine power due to oil starvation because the adapter vibrated loose and allowed oil loss. The AD required that the fiber gasket be removed and replaced with a copper gasket. Review of the airplane’s maintenance records revealed no evidence that the AD had been complied with. Had it been accomplished, the mechanic would have most likely removed the oil filter adapter, installed the new gasket, reinstalled the oil filter adapter, and tightened its associated hardware, which would have prevented the oil leak during the accident flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.