Accident Sequence
The private pilot was flying a single-engine airplane in cruise flight when the aircraft experienced a propeller runaway and loss of oil pressure. The engine began to lose power, prompting the pilot to establish a glide toward a dirt road. At 700 feet above ground level, a connecting rod poked through the cowling, and oil covered the windshield. Due to reduced visibility and the unknown condition of the roadway, the pilot elected to land with the landing gear retracted. The airplane came to rest upright on the shoulder of the road.
Engine Examination
Post-accident examination of the engine revealed that no oil was present. The oil filter converter plate gasket was found protruding from around the adapter plate, and a 1/4-inch section of the gasket was missing.
Maintenance Records
An Airworthiness Directive (AD) had been issued addressing the oil filter converter plate gasket on engines that had been factory overhauled after April 1, 1999. The AD required replacement of the gasket before further flight on engines with more than 50 hours time since new, time since overhaul, or time since the last replacement of the gasket or converter plate, and thereafter every 50 hours time in service since the last replacement. Non-compliance with the AD could result in the protruding or swelling of the converter plate gasket and subsequent loss of engine oil.
The engine had been factory overhauled and shipped from the factory on February 18, 2000. At the time of the accident, the engine had accumulated 425 hours since the overhaul. Examination of the engine maintenance records revealed that the AD had not been previously complied with.