Sorrell SKYBOLT N3EG

Summary

On 21 September 2008 at about 23:20 local time, a Sorrell SKYBOLT registered N3EG was involved in an accident near Williamstown, Kentucky, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 September 2008 at 23:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Williamstown, Kentucky, United States

Coordinates

38.7081, -84.5042

Aircraft

Sorrell SKYBOLT

Registration

N3EG

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Falmouth → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

NYC08LA317

2 people were seriously injured.

A loss of engine power due to oil starvation as a result of improper servicing (removal of preserving fluid) of the engine after it had been returned from storage.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While in cruise flight at 2,000 feet the engine suddenly stopped producing power. The pilot and passenger, wearing parachutes, elected to parachute to the ground. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the pilot leave the airplane approximately 10 to 15 seconds after the passenger departed and after placing the airplane in a nose dive. The airplane impacted a rectangular farm field and the pilot and passenger suffered serious injuries due to the low altitude in which they parachuted from. The airplane had been purchased by the accident pilot approximately one month prior to the accident. According to the airplane's engine maintenance log, on April 28, 2004, the engine had undergone a preservation process called "pickling." The process utilized 10 quarts of pickling oil and the engine was placed in storage. On May 9, 2006 the engine was drained of the pickling oil and replaced with 7 quarts of 50 WT oil. The cylinders were drained and cleaned, and then the engine was test ran. The NTSB Materials laboratory examined components of the engine and analyzed an unknown substance within the lubricating journals of the camshaft and crankshaft. The compounds of the unknown substance was those found in corrosion preservation fluids also known as pickling fluids and are not found in lubricating oil. The presence of these compounds indicates that it was likely that some pickling fluids were still in the engine at the time of the accident; however, a specific pickling fluid could not be determined. According to the engine manufacturer, pickling fluid has been known to clog lubrication channels by forming a tarry residue when present in engines for prolonged periods and result in oil starvation. The number 2 main bearing and piston were thermally damaged and that thermal damage is consistent with oil starvation. Therefore it is possible that the residual pickling fluid clogged the lubrication channels for the number 2 position resulting in oil starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.