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ATL90LA032

1989-11-26 · NEW BERN, North Carolina, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport EWN

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE FAILURE OF THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT TO ENSURE THAT THE ENGINE FUEL SELECTOR VALVES WERE PROPERLY POSITIONED PRIOR TO TAKEOFF, WHICH LED TO FUEL STARVATION AND A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DURING TAKEOFF.

Factual narrative

THE AIRPLANE EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF POWER IN BOTH ENGINES SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF. A FORCED LANDING WAS SUBSEQUENTLY MADE IN A FIELD; THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH A DITCH DURING ROLLOUT. THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT REPORTED THAT BOTH ENGINES HAD MADE A 'POPPING NOISE' WHEN THEY LOST POWER. POST-CRASH EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF ANY PRE-EXISTING MECHANICAL PROBLEMS. DURING A SUBSEQUENT ENGINE TEST-RUN ATTEMPT, BOTH ENGINES STARTED NORMALLY AND DEVELOPED POWER. THE RIGHT-ENGINE RUN WAS LIMITED TO 55% POWER DUE TO AIRPLANE DAMAGE. THE LEFT-ENGINE WAS RUN UP TO FULL POWER WITH NO PROBLEMS. DURING THE LEFT-ENGINE RUN-UP, FUEL TO THE ENGINE WAS SHUT OFF; AFTER ABOUT 30 SECONDS, THE ENGINE BEGAN TO MAKE A POPPING NOISE AND LOST POWER. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_ATL90LA032.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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