Don W Guice ZODIAC 601XL N253DG

Summary

On 29 June 2015 at about 16:30 local time, a Don W Guice ZODIAC 601XL registered N253DG was involved in an accident near Seagoville, Texas, United States. 2 people were 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

29 June 2015 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Seagoville, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Mesquite Metro (HQZ)

Coordinates

32.6506, -96.5398

Aircraft

Don W Guice ZODIAC 601XL

Registration

N253DG

Category

Airplane

Year built

2012

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lone Star Exec → Mesquite

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN15LA286

Nobody was injured.

The engine overheating, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power, due to the pilot's operation of the engine with a higher-than-specified oil quantity level.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The sport pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight in the experimental, amateur-built airplane. The pilot reported that, as the flight approached the destination airport, the high oil temperature warning light illuminated. The pilot's attempts to remedy the situation were successful but only for a few minutes, after which, the high oil temperature warning again illuminated, and the engine subsequently began running roughly. Smooth engine operation could only be obtained by reducing the engine speed. However, at that power setting, the airplane would not maintain altitude. The pilot subsequently executed a forced landing to a field, and during the landing roll, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane then nosed over. A postaccident examination of the engine did not reveal any mechanical failures. The pilot reported that he intentionally ran the engine with more oil than specified in an attempt to reduce the operating temperatures. When checked at the accident site, the engine oil quantity was higher than the upper limit on the oil dipstick. The engine manufacturer had previously issued a service bulletin, which noted that operating the engine with the oil quantity above the upper limit can result in oil temperatures significantly higher than when operating the engine at the lower limit. It is likely that the operation of the engine with a higher-than-specified oil quantity level resulted in the engine overheating and subsequently losing partial power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.