# Incident 20260415004059I: Diamond Aircraft Ind Inc DA20-C1, Beaver Falls, PA, April 15, 2026

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 15, 2026, 14:45 local time
- Place: Beaver Falls, PA
- Airport: Beaver County
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: Pilot school (Part 141)
- Operator: 4AAS
- Location: 40.7725° N, 80.3914° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at BEAVER COUNTY (BVI), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.7725&lon=-80.3914&mi=10
- Aircraft: N395JA, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N395JA) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Diamond Aircraft Ind DA20-C1 (registry code 2990001, https://openairdocs.org/model/diamond-aircraft-ind-da20-c1) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental IO-240 series (registry code 17063, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-240-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: DIAMOND AIRCRAFT IND INC DA20-C1
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR IO-240 SER
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 500 total
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260415004059I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

INVESTIGATED AN ENGINE FAILURE OF ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ON APRIL 15, 2026 WHILE RETURNING FROM A FLIGHT TRAINING LESSON TO THE LOCAL PRACTICE AREA.  UPON RETURNING TO BEAVER COUNTY AIRPORT (BVI) THE AIRCRAFT COMPLETED A FULL STOP LANDING, THEN DEPARTED FOR AN ADDITIONAL TAKEOFF AND LANDING.  AFTER REDUCING POWER IN THE DOWNWIND LEG THE ENGINE HAD A SIGNIFICANT RPM REDUCTION (500RPM REDCUTION) AND THE PILOT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY.  APPROXIMATELY 30 SECONDS FOLLOWING THE RPM REDUCTION, THE ENGINE FAILED.  THE AIRCRAFT SUCCESSFULLY LANDED ON RUNWAY 28 AND CAME TO A STOP OFF THE ACTIVE RUNWAY AND ON AN ADJACENT TAXIWAY.  DURING THE INVESTIGATION, IT WAS FOUND THAT AN EXHAUST GAS VALVE IN CYLINDER #4 WAS FOUND TO BE SEPARATED BETWEEN THE VALVE STEM AND THE VALVE HEAD.  THE DAMAGED VALVE HEAD WAS SUBSEQUENTLY FRAGMENTED WITHIN THE CYLINDER AND BECAME WEDGED WITHIN #4 CYLINDER CAUSING THE ENGINE FAILURE AND THE PROPELLER TO STOP AND NOT WINDMILL DURING THE ENGINE FAILURE EVENT.  THE ENGINE WAS APPROXIMATELY 500 HOURS OVER THE RECOMMENDED OVERHAUL TIME.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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