- Date
- July 25, 1989, 18:45 local (Jul 26, 1989, 01:45 UTC)
- Place
- Placerville, CA
- Injuries
- 3 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N5925DPiper PA-22
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 2, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890725025249A
- Case key
- 26452
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 improper maintenance performed at the last overhaul which resulted in the failure of the #3 main bearing. Contributing to the accident was the lack of a suitable landing area for the emergency 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
Shortly after takeoff the RPM decayed and the engine seized. The instructor flew to the only available field in the area but it was on the side of a hill. The field was rough, uneven and covered with rocks. The airplane was demolished and all three people on the airplane received serious injuries. Teardown of the engine revealed the center main bearing had failed and fragments of the bearing separated from the bearing backing, and rolled up between the bearing and crankshaft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5925D
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-4587
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Oscar & Marlys Cordoba
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 22, 1989 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- PVP
- Destination
- PVP
- Airport
- PVF · Placerville
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
- 45
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 6,200 total · 8 in this make and model · 6,000 as pilot in command · 300 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.