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A DA40 pilot declared an emergency and diverted to a nearby airport after the engine oil pressure dropped. The engine oil temperature and cylinder head temperature remained normal; after landing no oil leak or loss was noted and subsequent flying did not duplicate the oil pressure anomaly.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 840349 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200906 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | DA40 Diamond Star |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Takeoff Cruise |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Oil Pressure Indication |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 150 Flight Crew Total 600 Flight Crew Type 430 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe |
Narrative:
Enroute; upon reaching cruise altitude (6500; VFR); noticed oil pressure falling. Pulled throttle to idle; declared emergency with center out of an abundance of caution; and diverted to another airport uneventfully. Oil temperature and cylinder head temperatures both remained in the green and did not climb. Upon landing; oil pressure was normal. Did some run-up's to verify operation and shut the engine down. Examined oil; found to be at 6 quarts; same as when I departed. Saw no unusual oil buildup under aircraft and even after waiting several minutes; no oil on the ramp. Called my mentor pilot and discussed the situation. He recommended climbing in the pattern and watching indications to see if anything else showed up. I started back up; performed normal run-up and after climbing to 6500 contacted center to continue to my destination; but flying airport to airport; again out of an abundance of caution; and returned uneventfully with no unusual indications other than low (but still within the yellow) oil pressure on short final and again no unusual oil temperatures or cylinder head temperatures.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A DA40 pilot declared an emergency and diverted to a nearby airport after the engine oil pressure dropped. The engine oil temperature and cylinder head temperature remained normal; after landing no oil leak or loss was noted and subsequent flying did not duplicate the oil pressure anomaly.
Narrative: Enroute; upon reaching cruise altitude (6500; VFR); noticed oil pressure falling. Pulled throttle to idle; declared emergency with Center out of an abundance of caution; and diverted to another airport uneventfully. Oil temperature and cylinder head temperatures both remained in the green and did not climb. Upon landing; oil pressure was normal. Did some run-up's to verify operation and shut the engine down. Examined oil; found to be at 6 quarts; same as when I departed. Saw no unusual oil buildup under aircraft and even after waiting several minutes; no oil on the ramp. Called my mentor pilot and discussed the situation. He recommended climbing in the pattern and watching indications to see if anything else showed up. I started back up; performed normal run-up and after climbing to 6500 contacted Center to continue to my destination; but flying airport to airport; again out of an abundance of caution; and returned uneventfully with no unusual indications other than low (but still within the yellow) oil pressure on short final and again no unusual oil temperatures or cylinder head temperatures.
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.