- Date
- August 8, 1989, 12:09 local (19:09 UTC)
- Place
- Terminal Island, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N28565Grumman American AA-5B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 25, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890808032579A
- Case key
- 26471
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 fatigue failure of an exhaust valve due to excessive wear of the respective valve guide. Factors related to the accident were: the fence & cars in the emergency landing area.
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 an overwater flt to cross a 23 mi channel, the eng began to run rough & loose power. The plt turned toward the shore & made a forced landing on a dirt road on Terminal Island. Before the acft stopped, it collided with a fence & svrl parked cars in a storage lot. An exam of the eng revealed the top of the #1 piston & the #1 cylinder head were severely battered; the #1 exhaust valve head had sepd from its stem & was found in the exhaust system; the exhaust valve guide was severely worn at the exhaust port; and the valve stem area was heavily corroded & coked with exhaust residue. A fatigue fracture was identified on a portion of the valve head that was not damaged. A metallurgical exam revealed evidence that the valve had failed from fatigue due to overheating, which resulted from a worn or bell mouthed valve guide.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N28565
- Reported as
- Grumman American AA-5B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA5B-0684
- Airframe hours
- 1,393
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4K, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Brown, Gerald B.
- Registered owner
- Louis F. Johnson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 22, 1988 · 40 hours before
- Departed
- LGB · Long Beach, CA
- Destination
- AVX · Avalon, CA
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
- 53
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 7,000 total · 10 in this make and model · 7,000 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
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 N28565 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.