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Pilot of a mooney observed the oil access door open and declared an emergency to divert and land due to the unknown affect that the open door may have on the engine cooling.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 494506 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200012 |
| Day | Fri |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201 To 1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | navaid : sax.vortac |
| State Reference | NJ |
| Altitude | msl single value : 4000 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | IMC |
| Light | Dusk |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Controlling Facilities | tracon : n90.tracon |
| Operator | general aviation : personal |
| Make Model Name | Mooney Aircraft Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Navigation In Use | other vortac |
| Flight Phase | descent : vacating altitude |
| Route In Use | arrival other |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | other |
| Function | flight crew : single pilot |
| Qualification | pilot : multi engine pilot : commercial pilot : instrument |
| Experience | flight time last 90 days : 100 flight time total : 1500 flight time type : 800 |
| ASRS Report | 494506 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | government : faa |
| Function | controller : approach |
| Qualification | controller : radar |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | aircraft equipment problem : critical other anomaly other |
| Independent Detector | other flight crewa |
| Resolutory Action | controller : separated traffic controller : provided flight assist flight crew : diverted to another airport |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Aircraft |
| Primary Problem | Aircraft |
Narrative:
Oil service door popped open during descent. I advised new york approach that I wished to divert to teb instead of flying the full approach to ldj. I did not know what effect the open oil service door would have on cylinder of oil cooling due to loss of positive pressure on top of the cylinders. New york approach advised me that I was #16 for the approach and directed me to fly direct sparta VOR. I did not wish to fly 30 mi away from the field, so I declared an emergency and landed without incident. The next day, I asked my a&P to find out if there was a safety issue regarding flying the plane with the oil door open. He said 'no problem.' I flew the airplane away and scheduled repairs which have since been done. There is no way to adequately preflight this item.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: PLT OF A MOONEY OBSERVED THE OIL ACCESS DOOR OPEN AND DECLARED AN EMER TO DIVERT AND LAND DUE TO THE UNKNOWN AFFECT THAT THE OPEN DOOR MAY HAVE ON THE ENG COOLING.
Narrative: OIL SVC DOOR POPPED OPEN DURING DSCNT. I ADVISED NEW YORK APCH THAT I WISHED TO DIVERT TO TEB INSTEAD OF FLYING THE FULL APCH TO LDJ. I DID NOT KNOW WHAT EFFECT THE OPEN OIL SVC DOOR WOULD HAVE ON CYLINDER OF OIL COOLING DUE TO LOSS OF POSITIVE PRESSURE ON TOP OF THE CYLINDERS. NEW YORK APCH ADVISED ME THAT I WAS #16 FOR THE APCH AND DIRECTED ME TO FLY DIRECT SPARTA VOR. I DID NOT WISH TO FLY 30 MI AWAY FROM THE FIELD, SO I DECLARED AN EMER AND LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE NEXT DAY, I ASKED MY A&P TO FIND OUT IF THERE WAS A SAFETY ISSUE REGARDING FLYING THE PLANE WITH THE OIL DOOR OPEN. HE SAID 'NO PROB.' I FLEW THE AIRPLANE AWAY AND SCHEDULED REPAIRS WHICH HAVE SINCE BEEN DONE. THERE IS NO WAY TO ADEQUATELY PREFLT THIS ITEM.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.