General Aviation News

Pilot forgets to add oil after oil change

by

The Cessna 150 experienced a total loss of engine power during an enroute climb to cruise. The pilot performed a forced landing to a field near Brookfield, Wis., where the plane hit trees and sustained substantial damage.

The pilot stated that he forgot to add engine oil during an oil change he performed on the airplane before the flight.

He said he forgot to add the oil because he was rushed and had personal activities to perform.

Examination of the airplane confirmed engine oil starvation.

A post-accident examination of the airplane revealed no other mechanical anomalies that would have precluded airplane operation.

The pilot held a private pilot certificate and a mechanic certificate with airframe and powerplant ratings.

The NTSB determined the probable cause as the pilot’s inadequate maintenance and preflight of the airplane, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to oil starvation.

NTSB Identification: CEN14CA515

This September 2014 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

Learn from the misfortune of others

Sign up now to receive NTSB Accident Reports and GA news in your email inbox. Join 110,000+ fellow aviators.

envelope

General Aviation News reserves the right to delete snarky, offensive or off-topic comments. See our Comment Policy for more details.

Comments

  1. I think it’s interesting that the NTSB report uses the phrase “probable cause” in this case. Ya’ think? All of the symptoms pointed to no oil, but when the pilot admits to forgetting to add the oil, the phrase “probable cause” could replaced with just “cause”. I know it’s standard language and allows for unknowns, but it just seems funny in this case.

    • I concur not only that they are expensive. That’s why to save money I mix the gas in my airplane like this: 1/4 Avgas, 1/2 mogas and 1/4 water. That water is dirt cheap, so I think I might increase my water input. Also never replace my air filter. When it gets dirty I just throw it away.

      This is obviously all sarcasm, but you never know maybe the owner though that if he didn’t have oil in his airplane he could carry more load in the 150.

  3. Recommendations, not always good, but check backround of AP IA , past work AMUST, I’ve delt with 3 + a aero business on my plane airworthiness an all were incompetent, fact one was taken to FAA COURT for frudulent work, an lost his Licence . CARE IS THE WORD

  4. This was not an oil change, just a drain. How can you forget to replace the old dirty oil with fresh oil? Would you not stumble over the fresh oil cans you prepared for the job before you finished it?

  5. This falls back onto a proper preflight lets even forget this person has an A & P. If you don’t have time to do a proper preflight you shouldn’t be flying at that time. Even on my busiest days I love to fly because once I am in the plane there is nothing I can do except fly the plane my problems are left on the ground and if it’s to bad and I can’t leave them on the ground then I don’t fly.

    • Why should he lose both licenses. He screwed up in his A & E role, which caused him to crash in his pilot role. It’s not the pilot’s fault the mechanic was incompetent.

  7. When I initially started my experience in aircraft shopping when I would see an ad that said owner is an A&P I would get excited and think to myself “this airplane is solid.” Now after some years of checking out aircraft and being in the industry my opinion is the exact opposite. Most A&P owned aircraft are wrecks, and it seems they hand out A&P ratings to anyone that has a pulse. On top of that most of them don’t even own the basic reading materials of their trade such as AC 43-13-1 and 2 B or an Aviation Mechanic Handbook. That being said there are also amazing A&Ps out there, but in my experience you have to look hard for them.

    With that knowledge this accident report doesn’t surprise me at all, but again is something that could have been prevented provided the pilot (and owner in this case) follow the checklist.

      • If my harsh words prevent even one fatal accident by ensuring an A&P goes the extra mile to prove me wrong, then I will gladly take the anger from the mechanics.

        I am friends with 2 A&Ps and managed 3 of them in my previous job duties. The ones that I am friends with have a sentiment the same as mine. Of course your experiences and opinions may be different. I am just stating my experiences and opinions.

    • Jay, If you think they just hand out mechanic certificates, you should go try to get one. That was really an uncalled for and ignorant comment.

    • Harsh comments, but unfortunately there’s truth in them. Mechanics may or may not be conscientious. They may or may not be competent. Sort of like pilots. If I fly an airplane owned and maintained by an A&P I take the same (and maybe a little more) care with the pre-flight than I would otherwise. I’ve seen mechanics on the shop floor say “it’s good enough”… while short cutting the installation procedures for equipment. I’ve also noticed that some (not all) A&P/AI qualified individuals will inappropriately rely upon their own experience with some critical maintenance issues (like metal in the oil) rather than following published procedures. This seems to be more of a problem with older ones who learned to wrench a long time ago. But I see it with some younger ones. I also know pilots who purchased aircraft from mechanics only to learn that some serious deficiencies weren’t mentioned during the transaction. Caveat emptor applies equally when buying maintenance and when purchasing an annual or special installation. The brush you’re painting with is very broad, but the consequences of misplaced trust are very, very high.

    • Art, I made the same comment below.!! It’s the #1 thing to do after engine start…..look for oil pressure, while setting the throttle to 1,000 rpm, check ammeter for charging. ….then all of the other stuff.

  9. What are the two most important fluid volumes to check on an air cooled piston powered airplane? Duh – would that be oil and fuel? Oil dipstick checked on pre-flight?

    • And then immediately after engine start, what do we all look for…
      OIL PRESSURE..!! Every POH has this instruction. If you don’t see oil pressure with 30 seconds, shut the engine off.!!
      It was a Forest Gump moment…. ‘Darwin’ almost got another one.

  10. “You gotta know when to hold up, know when to fold up, know when to walk away when the dealing’s done.”

  11. “He FORGOT to add oil?” And an A/P to boot????
    Ok, Ok; He’s 98 an has “frequent” bouts of memory loss – perhaps “Hillary” gave it to him?

Thank you to our online partners