Summary
On February 17, 2018, a Black Donald COZY III (N904DB) was involved in an incident near Los Lunas, NM. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The seizure of the propeller gearbox for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information, which resulted in a forced landing.
On February 17, 2018, about 1500 mountain standard time, a Cozy III experimental amateur-built airplane, N904DB, was substantially damaged during a forced landing after an in-flight propeller gearbox failure at the Mid Valley Airpark (E98), Los Lunas, New Mexico. The commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane was privately owned, and operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the area and no flight plan was filed for the flight. The flight originated from E98 about 1400.
After flying uneventful for about 1 hour in the local area, the pilot set up for landing at E98. On downwind for runway 36, the propeller seized and the pilot executed a forced landing to runway 36.
This incident is documented in NTSB report CEN18LA117. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N904DB.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The seizure of the propeller gearbox for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information, which resulted in a forced landing.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On February 17, 2018, about 1500 mountain standard time, a Cozy III experimental amateur-built airplane, N904DB, was substantially damaged during a forced landing after an in-flight propeller gearbox failure at the Mid Valley Airpark (E98), Los Lunas, New Mexico. The commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane was privately owned, and operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the area and no flight plan was filed for the flight. The flight originated from E98 about 1400.
After flying uneventful for about 1 hour in the local area, the pilot set up for landing at E98. On downwind for runway 36, the propeller seized and the pilot executed a forced landing to runway 36. While turning on final approach, the pilot slightly overshot the runway and touched down hard on the right edge of the runway. The landing gear were sheared upon touchdown and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and center fuselage section.
Examination of the airplane revealed that the propeller gearbox was seized. Examination of the gearbox did not reveal any obvious reason for the seizure. Logbooks indicated that the airplane and engine total hours were about 13.4 since it's initial airworthiness certificate was issued on July 5, 2012.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# CEN18LA117