Catastrophic engine failure today in flight

[The201pilot]

Took my 1977 M20J out for a test flight today after having the engine torn down from finding lots of metal in the oil filter at annual inspection.  (Only had 250 hrs since major)  Start-up was silky smooth, the run up and climb out were normal, aside from a small acorn nut coming loose from the vertical compass, which i thought to myself, "we've had our glitch for this flight "...All temps and pressure's in the normal range as indicated by the EDM 730 as well as the top cluster...Approx 30-35 miles north west of Calgary at 7300' the oil pressure suddenly dropped to "0" and the engine began running rough to say the least...There was no oil mist on the windshield to obscure my vision..I managed to call "Calgary Terminal" and informed them of my situation and that i planned on putting down at Sundre CFN7 (3663') approx 8-10 miles at my 12 o'clock..with the runway in sight. I had plenty of altitude to spare..  Calgary Terminal gave me the frequency for Sundre, i quickly tuned them in and made the call that i had an engine failure and would be landing "runway 32 full stop" no call back from any traffic, switching back to Calgary terminal freq. to sign off with them and thank them for the info, the radio was breaking up quite a bit as i was nearing final at Sundre..Coming into final at Sundre, the wind was at my nose by about 3-5 kts saving the gear and 1 notch of  flaps until short final to make sure we made the field. She touched down just as the stall horn began to squeak, and rolled to a stop clear of the runway just on the edge of the apron.  There was a Cessna or older lear that came by at low altitude as i was exiting the aircraft, no doubt they had heard the call over the airwaves and decided they had the time to check in on me..Thanks for that ! I gave them a clear thumbs up, and they turned and flew back towards Calgary.. For the type of failure that occurred, it could not have turned out better.  Now we just have (only) an engine to replace..Lets hope there's warranty !

 

I will put up a couple pics for now of a part in question, and the beautifully busted up crankcase !

[MooneyBob]

Wow. Very glad to hear that you are ok. Great performance.

[MooneyBob]

And it's time to ask some tough questions.

[The201pilot]

Thanks Bob...and what do you mean by "tough questions" ? I think you mean to the engine shop..?

[kmyfm20s]

Glad your Ok! Looks like you lost a connecting rod. Was is a complete overhaul? Did they test it on the stand?

[The201pilot]

They did test it on the stand, as well as 2 leak checks after install.  For a failure it couldn't have happened at a better distance/altitude from where i was..

The cam and lifters were replaced, all bearings were replaced, fuel pump cam was replaced, rings we replaced, piston wrist pins as well as wrist pin plugs replaced..she was almost another major ! Crankshaft was machined down .003" to remove very spotty corrosion...again only 250hrs since last major ! oil cooler as well as prop and governor were overhauled and re-installed

[carusoam]

THE201pilot,

Well done!

-a-

[aaronk25]

Fantastic job of aviating!

[David Mazer]

Glad your okay and well done!

[BorealOne]

Excellent aviation! Where did you have the work done?

I'm flying into YBW tomorrow and hope my flight is far less eventful.

[Hector]

Good Job! Nicely done!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[The201pilot]

The engine work was done here locally in Calgary...The shop will remain nameless for now...We shall see how they handle the small warranty issue.

[mooneygirl]

Congrats on the good outcome. You kept your wits about you and did what you are trained to do.  Glad it all turned out so well

[Oscar Avalle]

wow

[RocketAviator]

Glad your safe, the plane can be repaired or replaced! Hope things work out well!

[MooneyBob]

Thanks Bob...and what do you mean by "tough questions" ? I think you mean to the engine shop..?

That's exactly what I mean.

[Rwsavory]

Nice job handling the emergency! Were you advised as to the source of the metal found before the tear down?

[The201pilot]

The metal from before tear down came from the top of the tappets spalling, in addition to the fuel pump lobe grinding itself apart..which got into the bearings..and metal makes more metal..but the filter did it job..

[The201pilot]

Bob , we'll see how they handle the warranty and repair..But i will be visiting the shop tomorrow..

[Bob_Belville]

My 1st M20E swallowed a valve @ 5000' over NJ many years ago. I pulled the throttle back to idle and with an airfield @ 12 o'clock and 10 miles the rest of the flight was much like yours. Good job! 

[Wakeup]

Wow!! Just got goose bumps!! You did a great job and I only hope we all could do the same faced with your situation. Strong work!! Troy

[Piloto]

Now because you didn't break the plane the insurance will not cover. The irony of these events. Looks like the connecting rod bolt was overtight and failed. Did the connecting rod broke? I have seen this happens on new engines with less than 500 hours but is very rare.

 

You did an excellent job on getting the plane down. Hope everything turns out good in getting another engine.

 

José 

[Marauder]

Thanks for sharing and more importantly, glad you made it back safely! That was a MAJOR failure and you handled it well. Keep us posted on the findings. And oh, go out and buy a lottery ticket... please, send a little bit of money to me for the suggestion. Not much, just enough for a new Acclaim when they are available

[kmyfm20s]

That looks more like a cylinder hold down that sheared between the case and cylinder base to me. I don't recall connecting rod bolts being that big. It does look like the nut was upside down.

[AndyFromCB]

Congratulations on emergency handled well. Nice that there was no oil on your windshield. That's always a bitch to deal with on top of everything. Well handled.