- Date
- July 16, 1982, 22:30 local (Jul 17, 1982, 06:30 UTC)
- Place
- 65 Mi.Ene Of Mc, AK
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N891APiper PA-22
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report July 16, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19820717030519A
- Case key
- 69666
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During flight, the pilot noticed a progressive loss of power. He elected to make an emergency landing on a gravel bar. During the landing, the aircraft rolled through a shallow slough where the left main gear hit a log. The nose gear then hit a bank at the edge of the slough and the plane went over on its back. The engine died when the aircraft turned over. An examination of the engine revealed that the no 3 rocker arm exhaust valve adjustment bolt had failed and was loose in the valve cover. There was evidence that the bolt may have been overtorqued. The bolt should have been torqued to 450 inch pounds. A check of the other bolts revealed taht their torque values ranged from 150 to 450 inch pounds. The engine had a total of 3.7 hours of operation since it had a top overhaul.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N891A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-192
- Airframe hours
- 3,684
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290-D, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Paul Moore & Dave Armstrong
- Registered owner
- Paul Moore & Dave Armstrong
- Departed
- Z22 · Willow, AK
- Destination
- 5N1 · Nikoli, AK
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 27
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 86 total · 23 in this make and model · 49 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 113 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N891A · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.