NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CHI89FA109
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE FAILURE OF THE MECHANIC TO PROPERLY INSPECT THE ALTERNATE AIR DOOR DURING ANNUAL INSPECTION. THIS FAILURE LED TO AIR STARVATION, LOSS OF POWER, AND A FORCED LANDING BY THE PILOT ONTO ROUGH TERRAIN.
Factual narrative
THE PILOT TAXIED AND TOOK OFF WITHOUT DIFFICULTY, BUT NOTICED A GRADUAL LOSS OF MANIFOLD PRESSURE AS HE WAS PREPARING TO RETRACT THE GEAR. HE LANDED IN A NEARBY FIELD WITHOUT INCIDENT, BUT DURING ROLLOUT, THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK A DITCH, DRIVING THE RIGHT GEAR THROUGH THE WING SURFACE. INSPECTION REVEALED THE ALTERNATE AIR DOOR HAD BROKEN FREE AND WAS SUCKED DOWN THE INTAKE TO THE FUEL CONTROLLER, RESTRICTING THE AIR FLOW. ONLY TWO HOURS HAD ELAPSED SINCE THE ANNUAL INSPECTION. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1989_CHI89FA109.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.