- Date
- April 10, 1993, 14:55 local (21:55 UTC)
- Place
- Spokane, WA
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N29553Taylorcraft BL-65
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 13, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930410014419A
- Case key
- 43008
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 number 4 cylinder exhaust valve seat and the inadvertent stalling of the aircraft by the pilot in command. Factors contributing to the accident were buildings and power lines.
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 the initial climbout the engine began running rough and the pilot elected to return to the airport to land due to buildings and power lines in his climbout flight path. The pilot reported that 'due to the tightness of the turn to miss an airport building the airplane lost sufficient altitude and airspeed and stalled.' Subsequent examination of the aircraft's engine revealed that the number 4 cylinder exhaust valve seat had failed and no compression could be achieved from the cylinder.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N29553
- Reported as
- Taylorcraft BL-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2396
- Airframe hours
- 3,026
- Engine
- Lycoming O-145-B2, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Murphy, Vaugh E.
- Registered owner
- Murphy, Vaugh E.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 2, 1993 · 2 hours before
- Airport
- SFF · Felts Field, runway 21, 4,500 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 21
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 512 total · 5 in this make and model · 431 as pilot in command · 57 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 39 °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.