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CHI93LA016

1992-10-24 · LUDINGTON, Michigan, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport LDM

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PARTIAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB OUT ON A NIGHT FLIGHT.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT STATED SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, THE AIRPLANE '...LOST THE ABILITY TO CLIMB/MAINTAIN ALTITUDE.' EMERGENCY PROCEDURES WERE UNSUCCESSFUL, AND THE AIRPLANE SETTLED INTO THE TREE TOPS. POSTACCIDENT EXAMINATION REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT PROPELLER ASSEMBLY FAILURE. AN ENGINE TEARDOWN REVEALED THE TOP PISTON RING IN THE #1 CYLINDER WAS BROKEN, WITH NO EVIDENCE OF SCORING ON THE CYLINDER WALL. THE RIGHT MAGNETO OPERATION WAS INTERMITTENT, ESPECIALLY AT HIGHER RPM SETTINGS. THE ENGINE TOTAL TIME WAS 3,169.9 HOURS, AND TIME SINCE MAJOR OVERHAUL WAS 2,064.5 HOURS. THE AIRPLANE HAD OPERATED 2.4 HOURS SINCE THE MOST RECENT ANNUAL INSPECTION. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1992_CHI93LA016.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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