- Date
- April 2, 1989, 09:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Liano, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N85HLMartin Sorrell Hiperlight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 22, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890402009429A
- Case key
- 26145
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
Engine failure due to a seized piston.
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
An engine failure occurred shortly after takeoff. Disassembly of the engine revealed the piston had seized with four points of contact along the cylinder wall. The engine had been recently overhauled and had 1.1 total hours at the time of the accident. The two cycle engine (manufacturered by Rotax) held no FAA approval by either type certificate or production certificate.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N85HL
- Reported as
- Martin Sorrell Hiperlight (SORRELL HI)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 082
- Airframe hours
- 108
- Engine
- Rotax 277, 28 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Lopez, Dale Allen
- Registered owner
- Rick L. Underwood
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 21, 1989 · 4 hours before
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 366 total · 1 in this make and model · 305 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 7 knots, gusting 5
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.