What happened
On April 21, 2009, a privately owned Pioneer 200, registration CS-UNF, departed from Lezíria aerodrome for a recreational flight to Cerval. The flight proceeded at low altitude along the coastline. At approximately 10:35 local time, while flying near the Ovar Air Base, the aircraft's Jabiru 2200 engine suddenly stopped, causing the propeller to enter a windmilling state. The pilot declared an emergency and successfully performed an emergency landing on the runway at the Ovar Air Base. Both the pilot and the passenger were uninjured, and the aircraft sustained no damage.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sudden loss of engine power. The pilot, who is also an aircraft mechanic, inspected the engine following the landing and discovered that the ignition system's distributor rotors were broken. Records showed that this specific engine had been involved in a similar power loss incident on February 22, 2009, due to faulty distributor rotors. Following that previous incident, the rotors had been replaced with the same model (Part Number 48 200 from INTERMOTOR). To prevent movement, a small amount of adhesive had been applied to fix the rotors to the distributor, a practice suggested by the maintenance provider based on engine manual instructions.
Findings
- The engine failure was caused by the disintegration of the distributor rotors within the ignition system.
- The INTERMOTOR PN 48 200 rotors are not suitable for use in Jabiru 2200 engines.
- The application of adhesive to the rotors prevented them from absorbing mechanical stress. This caused the rivets to fail and the metal plates to detach after only 19 hours and 35 minutes of operation.
- The failure of these specific rotors had been a recurring issue, with a previous incident involving the same engine occurring only two months prior.
- Meteorological conditions were clear and did not contribute to the event.