- Date
- October 28, 1989, 17:30 local (Oct 29, 1989, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Borrego Springs, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9330LGrumman AA-1A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report July 22, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891029043699A
- Case key
- 26673
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 failure of the engine exhaust valve.
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
The 23-year-OLD recently certified private pilot purchased an 18-year-OLD flying club airplane. The aircraft and engine had been operated for a total of 2093 hours. No record was found of the engine having been overhauled. During the aircraft's life, it had been inactive for two periods totaling 8 years. During cruise flight, the engine lost all power. The pilot made an emergency landing in the desert, and the aircraft collided with a berm and nosed over. Examination of the engine, which had a tbo of 2400 hours if kept in continous service, revealed that the no. 1 exhaust valve head had separated from the stem which was necked down at the point of failure. The engine's three other exhaust valve stems were also found necked down in the same general area.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9330L
- Reported as
- Grumman AA-1A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA1A-0030
- Airframe hours
- 2,093
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 108 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- John L. Lee, doing business as Best West Flyers, Inc.
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 3, 1989 · 43 hours before
- Departed
- L08 · Borrego Springs, CA
- Destination
- MYF · San Diego, 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
- 23
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 89 total · 29 in this make and model · 58 as pilot in command · 77 in the last 90 days · 33 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °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.