Narrative:

I was enroute cruise in our company aircraft for a business trip on an IFR flight plan in cavu conditions. Level 5;000 ft MSL with the autopilot engaged. I heard a noise from the engine compartment and looked up to see the oil access panel open and engine oil spewing onto the windscreen. I reduced power and declared an emergency with a nearby air force base approach controller and asked to proceed direct to an outlying military airport which I knew was the closest facility. The controller cleared me direct accordingly. I did not note the engine gauges as I was concerned with getting the airplane set up for landing about 10 miles away. Fortunately; the landing runway was out my left (pilot) window and I came in on left base because there was no forward visibility from the cockpit. The controller inadvertently gave me the airport's tower frequency. I checked in on tower and was told I had the incorrect tower then went back to the approach controller who then gave me the correct frequency. I proceeded to land the plane by slipping some on final then opening the pilot's side window and peering ahead to see the runway. The aircraft touched down at the threshold and; once the nose was lowered; loud bangs began in the engine compartment at which time I selected idle cutoff and coasted to a stop on the runway. The airport rescue and fire fighter personnel helped get the plane to a safe location on the tarmac. One of the rescue personnel commented after looking into the engine compartment that; 'the engine threw a rod.'

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A C182 pilot declared an emergency and landed at a nearby military field just as the engine failed after engine oil flowed out of the open oil access panel.

Narrative: I was enroute cruise in our company aircraft for a business trip on an IFR flight plan in CAVU conditions. Level 5;000 FT MSL with the autopilot engaged. I heard a noise from the engine compartment and looked up to see the oil access panel open and engine oil spewing onto the windscreen. I reduced power and declared an emergency with a nearby Air Force Base Approach Controller and asked to proceed direct to an outlying military airport which I knew was the closest facility. The Controller cleared me direct accordingly. I did not note the engine gauges as I was concerned with getting the airplane set up for landing about 10 miles away. Fortunately; the landing runway was out my left (pilot) window and I came in on left base because there was no forward visibility from the cockpit. The Controller inadvertently gave me the airport's Tower frequency. I checked in on Tower and was told I had the incorrect Tower then went back to the Approach Controller who then gave me the correct frequency. I proceeded to land the plane by slipping some on final then opening the pilot's side window and peering ahead to see the runway. The aircraft touched down at the threshold and; once the nose was lowered; loud bangs began in the engine compartment at which time I selected idle cutoff and coasted to a stop on the runway. The Airport Rescue and Fire Fighter personnel helped get the plane to a safe location on the tarmac. One of the rescue personnel commented after looking into the engine compartment that; 'the engine threw a rod.'

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.