If your Continental engine has an aftermarket spin-on oil filter adapter from F&M Enterprises or Stratus Tool Technologies (Tempest), check the gasket. This AD may be the most cost-effective safety fix in recent memory, and one of the longest overdue.

The adapter itself is a popular STC modification that replaces the original Continental oil screen with a full-flow spin-on filter. The problem is the fiber gasket sealing the adapter to the crankcase. Over time, it deteriorates, compresses unevenly, or tears, and when it fails, oil bypasses the filter and escapes the engine. The result is oil starvation, power loss, and in the worst cases, a crash.

The NTSB linked oil leaks from these adapters to at least 11 accidents between 2004 and 2022. Two of those accidents prompted the original AD: a May 2019 crash near Mill Creek, California, in which a Cessna 182P struck a power line after losing engine power, killing a passenger and seriously injuring two others; and a June 2019 Cessna 210D crash near Ramona, California, with similar oil-leak evidence. The NTSB formally urged FAA action in December 2020. This superseding AD, effective October 2023, expands the applicability and adds an approved gasket option.

The fix: Before 50 flight hours or the next oil change, whichever comes first, replace the fiber gasket with a copper gasket (AN900-28 or AN900-29) or the newer stainless steel PTFE gasket (P/N ST07).Affected engines span the Continental C-125, C-145, O-300, IO-360, IO-470, IO-520, IO-550, TSIO-360, and TSIO-520 series, approximately 6,300 U.S.-registered aircraft. TBX tracks AD applicability by installed equipment, including STC-based modifications like this adapter, so compliance doesn't get missed at oil change time.

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