Cessna 310 pilot diverted to the nearest suitable airport after suffering a loss of oil pressure and...

Attributes
ACN	841292
Time
Date	200906
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.TRACON
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Cessna 310/T310C
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Descent
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	None
Component
Aircraft Component	Engine
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument
Experience	Air Traffic Control Military 20 Flight Crew Last 90 Days 20 Flight Crew Total 4390 Flight Crew Type 1035
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

Narrative:

I noticed that the RPM of the #1 engine was fluctuating so I started to pay strict attention to that engine's instruments. Approximately 15 minutes after takeoff I saw that the oil pressure was reading zero and there was oil streaming out of the cowling of that engine. I immediately shut down the engine and feathered the propeller. I declared an emergency and ATC gave me a vector to the nearest suitable airport. I made a straight-in landing on runway 36 without further incident. The FBO personnel met us at the taxiway off the end of the runway. Opening the cowling we found that the exhaust manifold to the inboard cylinders was cracked and the rear most valve cover was loose. Maintenance personnel are in the process of cleaning the engine and inspecting for further effects of the incident.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Cessna 310 pilot diverted to the nearest suitable airport after suffering a loss of oil pressure and; in response thereto; shutting down the left engine.

Narrative: I noticed that the RPM of the #1 engine was fluctuating so I started to pay strict attention to that engine's instruments. Approximately 15 minutes after takeoff I saw that the oil pressure was reading zero and there was oil streaming out of the cowling of that engine. I immediately shut down the engine and feathered the propeller. I declared an emergency and ATC gave me a vector to the nearest suitable airport. I made a straight-in landing on Runway 36 without further incident. The FBO personnel met us at the taxiway off the end of the runway. Opening the cowling we found that the exhaust manifold to the inboard cylinders was cracked and the rear most valve cover was loose. Maintenance personnel are in the process of cleaning the engine and inspecting for further effects of the incident.

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.