- Date
- September 6, 1998, 17:07 local (Sep 7, 1998, 01:07 UTC)
- Place
- Fairbanks, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N81045Cessna 140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19980906022819A
- Case key
- 43912
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The loss of engine power due to an in-flight fracture of an engine exhaust valve stem assembly. A factor associated with the accident was the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.
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
While in cruise flight the pilot heard a 'clunk' and engine rpm immediately began to decrease. The engine noise and rpm decrease continued, the pilot performed a forced landing in tundra, and the airplane nosed over onto its back. Postaccident inspection revealed that the exhaust valve stem of the number two cylinder had separated, and the valve was ingested into the cylinder. The engine had accumulated 4,555 hours since new, and 1,089 hours since overhaul.
Factual narrative
On September 6, 1998, at 1707 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 140 airplane, N81045, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during an emergency landing seven miles southeast of the Fairbanks International Airport, Fairbanks, Alaska. The private pilot owner and the sole passenger were not injured. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. The flight departed the Fairbanks/Clear Creek airstrip at 1615, and was returning to Fairbanks International Airport, from a camping trip. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed.
The pilot told the NTSB investigator-in-charge during a telephone interview on September 6, and in his NTSB Pilot / Operator report, that while in cruise at 1,500 feet msl, he heard a "clunk" and the engine rpm began to decrease. He stated that application of carburetor heat, and changing fuel tanks did not improve the engine performance. The engine noise continued, and engine rpm continued to decrease. The pilot notified the Fairbanks Air Traffic Control Tower of his emergency, and made a forced landing on tundra. The airplane nosed over during the landing.
Postaccident inspection of the Teledyne Continental Motors C-85-6-12 engine revealed the exhaust valve stem of the number two cylinder had separated, allowing the valve to be ingested into the cylinder. Metal pieces up to 1/2 inch in diameter, were recovered from the cylinder and exhaust manifold. The engine had accumulated 4,555 hours in service at the time of the accident, and 1,089 hours since overhaul.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N81045
- Reported as
- Cessna 140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 10335
- Airframe hours
- 4,540
- Engine
- Continental C-85-12, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Mickey R. Awbrey
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 5, 1997 · 80 hours before
- Departed
- 2AK2 · Clear Creek, AK
- Destination
- FAI · 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
- 29
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 433 total · 262 in this make and model · 401 as pilot in command · 29 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FAI, 7 nm away
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 N81045 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.