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NYC91FA154

1991-06-18 · MILLINOCKET, Maine, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MLT

N2155E has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (MOONEY M20R, built 1998), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE AIRSPEED, WHILE MANEUVERING FOR A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING ON A ROAD, WHICH RESULTED IN AN INADVERTENT STALL. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE PILOT'S IMPROPER REPLACEMENT OF AN OIL TEMPERATURE GAGE, AND A SUBSEQUENT OIL LEAK, WHICH RESULTED IN A LOSS OF OIL.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT INSTALLED AN INCORRECT OIL TEMPERATURE GAUGE. THE UNIT FIT INTO THE OIL SCREEN AND WAS SECURED BY PULLING THE CAPILLERY LINE TIGHT WITH TIE WRAPS. THE PILOT DEPARTED WITH HIS NEPHEW AND THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED TRAILING SMOKE. LATER, IT WAS SEEN FLYING TOWARDS THE AIRPORT WITH NO SMOKE VISIBLE. THE AIRPLANE WAS THEN OBSERVED TO MAKE A SHARP LEFT TURN, ENTER A SPIN, THEN IMPACT IN A DITCH NEXT TO A ROAD. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF AN ENGINE FAILURE; HOWEVER, ONLY ONE PINT OF OIL WAS FOUND IN THE ENGINE. OIL WAS FOUND ON THE UNDER BELLY OF THE AIRPLANE. ALSO, AN OIL TRAIL WAS FOUND THAT BEGAN AT THE AIRCRAFT TIEDOWN AREA & EXTENDED TO THE RUNWAY, WHERE A PUDDLE WAS FOUND IN THE AREA BELIEVED TO BE USED BY THE PILOT FOR ENGINE RUNUP. WITNESSES INDICATED THE PILOT PERFORMED HIS OWN MAINTENANCE ON HIS AIRPLANE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_NYC91FA154.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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