- Date
- March 16, 1990, 15:45 local (21:45 UTC)
- Place
- Herington, KS
- Injuries
- 2 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8285NPiper PA-28-140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900316004759A
- Case key
- 34942
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
Failure of the #2 exhaust valve, and improper flare by the pilot during the 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
The plt rprtd that while en route, the eng began vibrating & lost substantial power. He made an emergency landing in a farm pasture, but the acft touched down hard, damaging the prop, wings & landing gear. A post acdnt exam of of the eng revealed that the #2 exhaust valve had failed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8285N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-25502
- Airframe hours
- 5,881
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Ward, Robert L.
- Registered owner
- Ward, Robert L
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 1989 · 149 hours before
- Departed
- LWC · Lawrence, KS
- Destination
- GBD · Great Bend, KS
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
- 38
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 327 total · 230 in this make and model · 300 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 15 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MHK
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 N8285N · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.