Steel/Vans RV6 N64ME

Summary

On 21 July 2000 at about 20:20 local time, a Steel/Vans RV6 registered N64ME was involved in an accident near Winnemucca, Nevada, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 July 2000 at 20:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Winnemucca, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Winnemucca Muni (WMC)

Coordinates

41.1195, -118.0508

Aircraft

Steel/Vans RV6

Registration

N64ME

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Elko

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX00LA275

1 person had minor injuries.

A loss of power due to overheating resulting from the failure of the engine build-up facility to install a vernatherm.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After losing engine power, the amateur-built airplane encountered soft soil and nosed over after overrunning the runway during a forced landing at the airport. The flight left the San Francisco Bay area earlier in the day and was en route ultimately to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. In cruise the pilot saw that the engine oil temperature was nearing the upper limit and landed at the airport for it to cool off. After about an hour on the ground, the pilot performed a detailed preflight inspection and run-up, with no abnormalities detected. The pilot then departed for the next en route stop. About 10 minutes after departure, the engine oil temperature climbed once more to the red line limit and the pilot decided to turn around. Shortly thereafter, the oil temperature exceeded the red line limit and the engine began to lose power. The pilot reduced the throttle and set up for a landing on a highway and the engine power partially returned. The pilot then attempted to continue to the airport; however, the engine lost power short of the facility. The pilot said she was able to reach the runway, but was too low to make any traffic pattern maneuvers, and too high to land normally. The airplane touched down slightly fast near the halfway point on the runway and was unable to stop prior to overrunning the pavement end. The airplane encountered soft, sandy soil and nosed over. Disassembly of the engine found that the vernatherm was not installed, allowing the oil supply to bypass the oil cooler. The records disclosed that the engine was built-up about 90 hours prior to the accident by a firm which specializes in performance improvement rebuilds for the experimental aircraft market. The engine is a basic Lycoming IO-360 with several modifications for power improvement.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.