Mailing List flyrotary@lancaironline.net Message #58465
From: Jeff Whaley <jwhaley@datacast.com>
Subject: One rotary down and out
Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2012 10:52:25 +0000
To: 'Rotary motors in aircraft' <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>

Sorry to post bad news guys but need to share this with you form a safety perspective.

 

Anyway what happened ... engine failure, prop stopped went into a corn field and flipped over.
I have 2 fuel pumps; decided to turn 1 off, when I did the engine quit - pump back on okay - repeated same result.
5 miles from home base I headed back, radioed inbound, 1 minute later I thought I smelled fuel and another 1 minute later the engine quit. Trimmed the airplane, mayday and glided straight ahead. Lots of corn and a few soya bean fields around but didn't want to land in them, saw a gravel road and turned to line up on it, pulled on full flaps for minimum landing speed, when I turned final there was a huge elm tree on the right edge at my expected touch down point, so at 100' I turned left into the field which was corn ... everything was going great until I hit the corn.  Thankfully the seats belts and shoulder harnesses did their job; upside down I released the belts and got out of there fast.

 

Walked out, phoned police and after they arrived authorities wanted the ELT shut off so we walked back to the airplane; when I got there I saw oil all over the bottom of fuselage. Checked engine and found the oil-out line (push-lock connector) hanging loose. I expect what happened is when the engine quit and restarted those 2 times that sent a burst of oil pressure and blew the hose off ... I pushed it back on and it would not pull back off again. I had heard some guys were putting heat shrink or other back-up systems on these connectors; I wish now I had used a simple stainless worm clamp.  Engine and redrive will be toast, airplane is substantially damaged ... I'll salvage what I can.
Jeff

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