Richard S Duncan AVID FLYER N1445P

Summary

On 17 November 2013 at about 22:00 local time, a Richard S Duncan AVID FLYER registered N1445P was involved in an accident near Lakeside, Oregon, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 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

17 November 2013 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Lakeside, Oregon, United States

Coordinates

45.5931, -124.1889

Aircraft

Richard S Duncan AVID FLYER

Registration

N1445P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1989

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lakeside → Lakeside

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR14LA055

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot/owner’s failure to comply with the engine manufacturer’s maintenance guidance, which resulted in the total loss of engine power due to the fracture failure of the plastic drive gear for the engine lubricating oil pump.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had owned the experimental amateur-built airplane for about 1 month and had flown it about 3 hours. Shortly after departure on a personal flight, as the airplane was climbing through an altitude of about 1,800 feet above ground level, the engine lost total power. The pilot set up for a forced landing to the top of a sand dune; however, the airplane collided with the upsloping face of the dune. Examination of the engine revealed that the plastic drive gear for the engine lubricating oil pump had fractured into multiple fragments, which resulted in cessation of oil pump rotation, loss of oil pressure and circulation, and complete loss of engine power. Only a few traces of dried lubricant were found on the fractured plastic gears; no other lubrication was found, indicating that a long period of time had passed since any maintenance had been performed on the oil pump. Review of the maintenance records indicated that, although the engine manufacturer recommended that the engine be overhauled every 5 calendar years, the engine was most recently overhauled about 12 years before the accident. Further, the most recent maintenance entry in the engine records was dated about 3 weeks after the overhaul.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.