-NTSB Identification: SEA02LA072
Accident occurred Sunday, April 21, 2002 at Creswell, OR
Aircraft:Gallagher Taylor "Coot", registration: N41RG
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been
completed.
On April 21, 2002, approximately 1305 Pacific daylight time, a Gallagher Taylor "Coot" experimental amateur-built airplane, N41RG, was destroyed
by impact forces and a post-crash fire in a collision with terrain following a loss of engine power and subsequent loss of control near Creswell, Oregon.
The private pilot-in-command, who was the airplane's sole occupant, was fatally injured in the crash. Visual meteorological conditions were reported
at Mahlon Sweet Field, Eugene, Oregon, at 1254, and there is currently no report of any flight plan being filed for the 14 CFR 91 flight.
The accident pilot, who did not hold a mechanic or repairman/experimental aircraft builder certificate (according to the FAA airman registry), had
bought the aircraft from a previous owner. The engine installed at the time the accident pilot bought the aircraft, an IO-360 series aircraft engine
(manufacturer currently unknown), was subsequently replaced with a Mazda 13B rotary automobile engine. An airworthiness inspector from the
FAA's Portland, Oregon, Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) had approved the automotive engine installation. According to the FAA aircraft
registry, the aircraft was issued an experimental/amateur-built airworthiness certificate on June 7, 2001, and an airworthiness update was
accomplished on September 24, 2001. An FAA inspector reported that the accident flight was the pilot's first flight in the accident aircraft, and that
the flight duration prior to the accident was 1 minute and 15 seconds. Initial accident notification information indicated that witnesses heard the
accident aircraft's engine cut out. The witnesses reported that the aircraft then nosed down, collided with the ground, and caught fire. The accident
site was in a field 1 mile west of the Creswell airport. The 1254 Eugene hourly METAR weather observation reported conditions there as: wind from
350 degrees true at 9 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; overcast at 3,200 feet; temperature 13 degrees C; dew point 8 degrees C; and altimeter setting
30.19 inches Hg.
FAA inspectors who responded to the accident site and performed an on-site examination of the aircraft wreckage reported that they found no
evidence of malfunctions in the aircraft's airframe or flight controls. Following the FAA inspectors' on-site wreckage examination, the aircraft's
engine was moved to the service facility of Kiefer's Eugene Mazda in Eugene, Oregon, where a disassembly examination of the engine was conducted
by a Mazda service technician under the supervision of the FAA inspectors on April 23, 2002. The disassembly examination disclosed that the engine
was seized, with both rotors, an oil pump, and the rotor bearing surfaces exhibiting galling and burn damage consistent with oil starvation. The
inspectors reported that a metering oil pump, which supplies oil to the combustion chambers, was noted to be missing from the engine installation,
with its drive absent. The Mazda service technician reported that further examination disclosed that the oil injection nozzles associated with the
missing metering oil pump were also missing from the combustion chambers, and that the nozzle holes were plugged with a non-metallic substance.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
First the metering pump has absolutely nothing to do with oiling the bearings.
The function of the metering pump is taken over in aircraft use by mixing
two cycle oil with the fuel.
A failed or missing metering pump will NOT cause the engine to seize.
Your tax money at work. Why can't we find competent government employees?
Perhaps the people at the top don't know anything about airplanes.
I can't even find an email address at the NTSB to complain too.
_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARION C. BLAKEY
CHAIRMAN
Marion Clifton Blakey was sworn in September 26, 2001 as the 9th Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.
Ms. Blakey has served in a number of positions in government, most recently as Administrator of the Department of
Transportation?s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (1992-1993). As the nation?s leading highway safety official,
she was charged with reducing deaths, injuries and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes.
For the last eight years, she has been the principal of Blakey & Associates, a Washington, D.C. public affairs consulting firm
particularly focusing on transportation issues and traffic safety.
Before that, she served in five government departments and agencies, including the Department of Commerce, the Department of Education, the
National Endowment for the Humanities and the White House, as well as the Department of Transportation. She has held four previous Presidential
appointments, two of which required Senate confirmation.
?I was extremely honored when President Bush nominated me for this position,? Chairman Blakey said today. ?I look forward to the challenges ahead
as the National Transportation Safety Board continues its decades-long mission of improving the safety of all modes of transportation during this
critical time in our nation?s history.?
Ms. Blakey received her bachelor?s degree with honors in international studies from Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia. She also
attended Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies for graduate work in Middle East Affairs.
Ms. Blakey's current term as Chairman ends September 23, 2003. Her term as Member of the Safety Board ends December 31, 2005.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAROL J. CARMODY
VICE CHAIRMAN
Carol J. Carmody of New Orleans was sworn in on June 5, 2000, as the 30th member of the National Transportation Safety
Board, and appointed Vice Chairman by President Clinton on January 19, 2001. She served as Acting Chairman from January
22 through September 23, 2001.
Ms. Carmody brings to the job more than 20 years experience with the aviation community. Before coming to the NTSB, she
worked as an independent consultant focusing on international and environmental issues. She served as the U.S. Representative
to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal from 1994 to 1999. Early in her term, she was instrumental in
persuading ICAO to start a safety oversight program to assess the compliance of countries with ICAO standards. This was a first at ICAO, and the
results will improve safety for the travelling public around the world.
Ms. Carmody spent from 1988 to 1994 as a professional aviation staff member of the Senate Commerce Committee. She worked on legislation to
mandate inspections for aging aircraft, to improve pilot training, to phase out Stage 2 aircraft, to authorize Passenger Facility Charges, and to reform
the FAA - particularly in areas of finance and procurement.
Up until 1988 when she joined the Senate Committee, she had worked for 11 years at the FAA in jobs of increasing responsibility, leading to her
appointment in 1985 as Deputy Director of Congressional Services in the Office of the Administrator. Her FAA career began in the Budget Office in
1977.
Since her appointment as Board Member, Ms. Carmody has been on-scene member at several accidents, including the aircraft accident which killed
Governor Carnahan in October 2000, and the Aspen, Colorado airline crash which killed 18 people.
Her career includes: managing a firm which administered Taft-Hartley pension plans; owning and managing an employment agency; serving at the
Central Intelligence Agency; and working at Braniff Airlines.
Ms. Carmody has a Master's in Public Administration from American University in Washington, D.C. and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of
Oklahoma.
Ms. Carmody's term as Member expires on December 31, 2004.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
First the metering pump has absolutely nothing to do with oiling the bearings.
The function of the metering pump is taken over in aircraft use by mixing
two cycle oil with the fuel.
A failed or missing metering pump will NOT cause the engine to seize.
Your tax money at work. Why can't we find competent government employees?
Perhaps the people at the top don't know anything about airplanes.
I can't even find an email address on the NTSB web site to complain too.
I would be glad to offer my services for free in any future crashes involving
auto engines.
Paul Lamar
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