Accident Mooney M20B N74503,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 285151
 
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Date:Saturday 17 March 2007
Time:17:00 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic M20P model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Mooney M20B
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N74503
MSN: 1814
Year of manufacture:1961
Total airframe hrs:3958 hours
Engine model:Lycoming O-360-A1D
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:St. George, Utah -   United States of America
Phase: Unknown
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Saint George Municipal Airport, UT (SGU/KSGU)
Destination airport:Blackfoot, ID (KU02)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
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.

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

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: LAX07LA114
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 4 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB LAX07LA114

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
01-Oct-2022 18:29 ASN Update Bot Added

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