Flight Design Gmbh CTSW N378CT accident near Santa Fe, New Mexico

Probable cause

A leak in the oil line that supplied the engine with oil, which resulted in oil exhaustion and the total loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was the routing of the oil line to close to the exhaust manifold.

NTSB analysis

On an instructional flight, a flight instructor and the pilot receiving instruction practiced touchandgo landing maneuvers and were en route back to their destination. The pilot noticed the oil pressure had decreased and positioned the airplane to fly over a suitable landing environment. However, the oil pressure continued to decrease and when the pressure reached about 4 psi, the engine abruptly stopped. Subsequently, the flight instructor made a forced landing on a dirt field. During the ground roll, the nose wheel struck a rock and the airplane nosed over.

Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed a leak in the oil line supplying oil to the engine. The leak in the oil line likely led to the loss of oil during flight and resulted in the abrupt loss of engine power. The damage to the oil line was consistent with heat damage, which was likely a result of it having been routed too close to the exhaust manifold.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR21LA173 for the full record.