<< >> NASA ASRS Report 494506, December 2000

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.

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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.