CHI87DEC02

1987-03-20 · LINDEN, Michigan, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 9G2

Aircraft involved

N3630L Cessna 172G Minor

Factual narrative

THE STUDENT PILOT WAS ATTEMPTING TO LAND WHEN HE DECIDED HE WAS TOO HIGH, AND ABORTED THE LANDING ATTEMPT. THE ENGINE FAILED TO DEVELOP POWER DESPITE THROTTLE AND MIXTURE ADJUSTMENTS, AND THE PILOT MADE A FORCED LANDING IN A CORNFIELD. EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED THERE WAS NO CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE ROCKER ARM AND THE INTAKE VALVE STEM ON CYLINDER #3, AND NONE BETWEEN THE ROCKER ARMS AND EXHAUST VALVE STEMS ON #5 AND #6 CYLINDERS. THE COMPRESSION CHECK SHOWED NO COMPRESSION ON #5 OR #6 AND VERY LITTLE COMPRESSION ON #3. ALL OF THE CYLINDERS HAD BEEN RECONDITIONED 22 HOURS EARLIER. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_CHI87DEC02.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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