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A cessna 402 pilot reported observing an open engine oil cover with oil spilling out while in flight. The pilot decided to return to the departure airport to remedy the problem.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1507853 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201712 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Dusk |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Cessna 402/402C/B379 Businessliner/Utiliner |
| Flight Phase | Climb |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Oil Filler Cap |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Multiengine |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
I departed the airport [and] on the climb out as I was making my turn to the north at about 4;900 feet; I looked over at my right engine and noticed that the right engine oil cover was open and that oil was leaking out of it. I was in VMC conditions; I cancelled my IFR flight plan and returned to the airfield VFR. I landed the plane with no issue. I still had engine power and I proceeded to taxi the plane to the terminal to allow the passengers to get off. Then I taxied the plane to the hangar and wrote it up. Once I got out to inspect the plane; I noticed that the oil dipstick was missing.when I was doing preflight; I put a quart of oil in both engines. I remembered securing the dipstick in the left engine but not in the right engine. However; I do remember closing the oil cover and I don't recall the oil cover being open during start up and taxi. After having to do preflight outside and brush off snow on my second plane; it is possible that I forgot to secure the right engine oil dipstick; and that is what caused the oil leak. Even though I was a worn out and cold; I should've gone inside and warmed up before putting oil in the plane. I could've taken breaks between doing preflight; brushing off the plane and putting oil in the plane in order to give every task my full attention. When flying by myself that is something that I will do next time.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A Cessna 402 pilot reported observing an open engine oil cover with oil spilling out while in flight. The pilot decided to return to the departure airport to remedy the problem.
Narrative: I departed the airport [and] on the climb out as I was making my turn to the north at about 4;900 feet; I looked over at my right engine and noticed that the right engine oil cover was open and that oil was leaking out of it. I was in VMC conditions; I cancelled my IFR flight plan and returned to the airfield VFR. I landed the plane with no issue. I still had engine power and I proceeded to taxi the plane to the terminal to allow the passengers to get off. Then I taxied the plane to the hangar and wrote it up. Once I got out to inspect the plane; I noticed that the oil dipstick was missing.When I was doing preflight; I put a quart of oil in both engines. I remembered securing the dipstick in the left engine but not in the right engine. However; I do remember closing the oil cover and I don't recall the oil cover being open during start up and taxi. After having to do preflight outside and brush off snow on my second plane; it is possible that I forgot to secure the right engine oil dipstick; and that is what caused the oil leak. Even though I was a worn out and cold; I should've gone inside and warmed up before putting oil in the plane. I could've taken breaks between doing preflight; brushing off the plane and putting oil in the plane in order to give every task my full attention. When flying by myself that is something that I will do next time.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.