09/30 N5779R Engine Failure at 12,500'

[Yetti]

You have completed the test. You used your training to create the good outcome.   We all hope we will do as well when our test time comes.

[skykrawler]

On 11/16/2021 at 6:51 PM, Christian said:

Not the same plane. The plane I overheard was N4328H - a J model Mooney. The pilot that day was Paul Doxey who did an excellent job of landing on a dirt road near Salida. The cause of that engine stoppage was a mag failure on a single drive magneto engine.

I think the cause was a maintenance induced failure - improperly installed mag.  There IS a difference.

[as350]

I'm very happy that you made it out unscathed. And that you're willing to share your experience with the rest of us. This is a learning moment. It sounds like you made many sound decisions on that particular day.

Please share with us the results of the engine teardown. 

And good luck finding a replacement Mooney.

[tmo]

@CoffeeCan - first of all, congratulations on making it out unscathed. That is a feat in and of itself.

My question is, with sincere apologies for playing armchair quarterback, do you think that not shutting down the engine (ie. letting it seize later) would have changed the outcome at all? For the better, or for worse?

[hammdo]

On 11/14/2021 at 12:06 PM, Ragsf15e said:

I’ll be interested to hear how insurance treats you too.  Clearly appears you didn’t cause the accident and you did a great job handling it, but will your next insurance quote be raised significantly? That would frustrate me…

Mine was when I had my engine out - and I was with a CFII too...

Insurance is gonna be high and may be hard to get.

-Don

[CoffeeCan]

On 11/18/2021 at 12:18 PM, Yetti said:

You have completed the test. You used your training to create the good outcome.   We all hope we will do as well when our test time comes.

Yeti, funny thing, but this is exactly what my guy at SavvyMX told me when we talked later in the afternoon on the day… !!!

[CoffeeCan]

On 12/5/2021 at 4:28 AM, tmo said:

@CoffeeCan - first of all, congratulations on making it out unscathed. That is a feat in and of itself.

My question is, with sincere apologies for playing armchair quarterback, do you think that not shutting down the engine (ie. letting it seize later) would have changed the outcome at all? For the better, or for worse?

Interesting question, and I will address it shortly!

[CoffeeCan]

I received an unofficial report on the engine postmortem this evening. 

The engine crew looked first at the turbo, expecting to find the exhaust to be full of oil, indicating the failure was in the turbo (as the loss in manifold pressure suggested). However, there was no oil. The turbo had seized, but that would be expected with almost any loss of oil pressure. The crankshaft had not seized, and still turned easily… they found there was about 3 quarts of oil still in the crankcase. 
 

The culprit proved to be a broken exhaust valve in the #4 cylinder, which fell into the cylinder and punched a hole in the top of the piston. I w@s surprised to hear that, as I heard nothing that sounded like any engine cylinder  eating a valve I’ve ever heard before (in automotive and small engine applications). The engine guys suggested I might have had enough power to keep the engine going a bit longer, as it was still making some power… but if I had done so, and tried stretching it the 25 miles between the point of failure and the Limon airport, other nastier things might have happened, such as an engine fire.
 

All in all, I think what was basically an uneventful power-off landing in a field was the preferred option, as opposed to a high-speed and high-angle descent to a fresh crater in a burning airplane.
 

In the end, this means that N5779R will fly again, just not for me.  The insurance company is writing her off and will send me a check this week, I’m told.  The adjuster told me the repair costs are expected to be well north of $160k, which the company is prepared to pay, just not for me.  They will sell it at auction, and given current t prices, they will make a profit. I have mixed feelings about that. But in the end, I have decided to just let her go and try to get into another airplane. 
 

What I will buy (or more what I can afford to buy in the current market), and how badly I will take it in the shorts getting insurance, are questions that remain to be answered. We shall see. 
 

Again, thanks for the many kind words, Mooneyacs. I hope this discussion is helpful to the rest of y’all. 

[larrynimmo]

Please do not take offense to this question….what would you have done if you didn’t have insurance on the plane?

[RobertGary1]

Wow that brings back thoughts to my engine failure. I was climbing through 2,000 feet when I lost oil pressure due to a separating piston end cap on my 1050 sfnew Lycoming. I was lucky to have an airport to take my Mooney to and was greeted with all the fire trucks. 
it’s funny how long everything seemed to take until you go back and listen to atc tapes and engine monitor logs and realize it was seconds. 

[RobertGary1]

Regarding insurance. Under insuring makes it an easy decision to write the plane off especially since it means the insurance company now owns all your fancy new avionics. 

[CoffeeCan]

On 12/7/2021 at 11:29 AM, larrynimmo said:

Please do not take offense to this question….what would you have done if you didn’t have insurance on the plane?

No offense taken! (I thought I responded to  your question last week, apparently it didn't "take"... I was in Canada and their internet sometimes doesn't play well with others up there...)

Basically, aside from my statement to the effect that "the insurance company now owns this airplane", none of my actions were taken by consideration of insurance status. I made that statement as a reminder that the airplane is only metal and paint, whereas my body is flesh and blood, and my job at that point was to take care of the flesh and blood at the expense of the metal and paint, if need be. 

 

[CoffeeCan]

On 12/8/2021 at 10:41 AM, RobertGary1 said:

Regarding insurance. Under insuring makes it an easy decision to write the plane off especially since it means the insurance company now owns all your fancy new avionics. 

Man, if I'd known how expensive buying a Mooney would be in December of 2021 back in June when I renewed my insurance policy, I would have insured it for $200K... unfortunately, I didn't bother to check what prices were doing. At this point, I would say to ANY airplane owner to look at replacement value for your bird every time you renew your insurance. 

[RobertGary1]

9 minutes ago, CoffeeCan said:

Man, if I'd known how expensive buying a Mooney would be in December of 2021 back in June when I renewed my insurance policy, I would have insured it for $200K... unfortunately, I didn't bother to check what prices were doing. At this point, I would say to ANY airplane owner to look at replacement value for your bird every time you renew your insurance. 

Yea I’m in that boat. I upped it a little in my renewal last month but I’m going to a lot more after seeing some values now