Mechanical & Engine Failure · NTSB WPR16LA050
MOORE ONEX — Fresno, CA
| Date | January 10, 2016 |
| Location | Fresno, CA |
| Aircraft | MOORE ONEX (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Prior to flight Aircraft maintenance event |
| Pilot age | 70 |
| Pilot total time | 484 hrs · Building experience |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Maintenance-Installation-Owner/builder - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - F
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - F
What happened
The pilot/builder was carrying out the initial flight test after recently building the amateur experimental airplane. Shortly after takeoff, the airplane's engine experienced a total power loss and the pilot initiated a descending left turn in order to avoid an airport fence. Subsequently, the airplane impacted terrain, in a nose down attitude with the left wing low.
An examination of the engine revealed that the Force One Main Bearing seized to the crankshaft. Further, there were multiple circular impressions on the bearing surface. Based on this evidence, it is likely that while building the experimental engine, the pilot did not properly align the Force One Main Bearing, and the oil feed hole was inadvertently used as the dowel pin hole, which resulted in a blockage of the oil transfer hole, thus preventing oil into the bearing and resulted in engine seizure and total power loss.