Incident Summary
At 2130, the pilot of an airplane informed Indianapolis Center Air Traffic Controller that he was experiencing an emergency. Shortly thereafter, the airplane lost engine power. The controller provided information about nearby airports, but the pilot was unable to locate any of them. Another airplane in the vicinity attempted to assist by visually locating a nearby airport but was also unsuccessful. The pilot maneuvered for an emergency landing, during which the airplane collided with a tree, a pickup truck, and a mobile home.
Damage Examination
Examination of the aircraft revealed that both wings had detached from the airframe. The propeller and engine cowling had separated from the airplane, and the firewall was buckled. The nose of the airplane was crushed, and all three blades of the propeller were bent. Oil was found across the belly of the fuselage, and no oil was recovered from the engine. The fuel tanks were breached, but fuel was present in the fuel bowl and the fuel servo.
Turbocharger Findings
Photographs of the accident scene showed the turbocharger oil drain tank separated from its mount and hanging from the oil scavenge line and oil breather line. The mounting flange remained attached to the turbocharger. The oil return line threads that attached to the oil drain tank were not damaged. The turbine housing at the turbocharger oil drain tank attachment area was discolored. The turbocharger center section oil supply line check valve was field tested by applying 30 inches of air pressure and was functional. A subsequent teardown of the turbocharger revealed no evidence of oil leakage from the turbocharger assembly. The turbocharger was manufactured in March 1988 and was overhauled and reinstalled on the airplane by a repair facility on June 3, 2005, two days before the accident.
Pilot's Notes
The pilot's kneeboard was recovered. Kneeboard notes dated June 5, 2005, the day of the accident, contained a notation of "Symptoms," followed by entries of "blue smoke" and "oil puddle." Additional entries appeared to note observations related to engine power loss.