NTSB CHI89DEK01 — 1989-06-18 · ALBANY, Ohio, United States

N40973 has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (AEROVODOCHODY L-29 DELFIN), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

N40973 Piper PA-28 Serious

Probable cause & findings

SEIZURE OF THE #4 EXHAUST VALVE AND BENDING OF ITS RESPECTIVE PUSH ROD, WHICH RESULTED IN A SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE: LACK OF A SUITABLE EMERGENCY LANDING AREA, TREES, AND THE FENCE.

Factual narrative

DRG THE INITIAL CLIMB AFTER TAKEOFF, A PARTIAL POWER LOSS OF THE ENG OCCURRED & THE PLT WAS FORCED TO LAND. UNABLE TO RETURN TO THE ARPT, HE SELECTED THE ONLY AVAILABLE LANDING SITE, WHICH WAS ABOUT 300 FT LONG & 200 WIDE. THIS AREA WAS BORDERED BY TREES & 30 FT POWER LINES. JUST BEFORE TOUCHDOWN, THE RIGHT WING SEVERED LEAVES FROM A TREE. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT SLID INTO ANOTHER TREE & A FENCE. AN EXAM OF THE ENG REVEALED THE #4 EXHAUST VALVE WAS STUCK IN THE OPEN POSITION & ITS RESPECTIVE PUSH ROD WAS BENT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_CHI89DEK01.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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