NTSB CAROL · Event
Event DEN06CA081
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The broken rocker arm boss causing the number 1 cylinder exhaust valve to stay closed and subsequently the engine failed. A factor contributing to the accident was the soft field the airplane set down in.
Factual narrative
The airplane was taking off on an aerial application flight. Shortly after lifting off, the airplane's engine lost power. The commercial pilot set the airplane down on the runway toward the departure end. The airplane went off the end of the runway and into a wheat field. The airplane's main gear tires sank into the soft wet soil and the airplane subsequently nosed over causing the engine to fracture and separate from the fuselage and crushing the vertical stabilizer and rudder downward. The pilot sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. An examination of the airplane's engine revealed that the rocker arm boss on the number 1 cylinder had fractured leaving the exhaust valve on the cylinder closed. The airplane was taking off on an aerial application flight. Shortly after lifting off, the airplane's engine lost power. The commercial pilot set the airplane down on the runway toward the departure end. The airplane went off the end of the runway and into a wheat field. The airplane's main gear tires sank into the soft wet soil and the airplane subsequently nosed over causing the engine to fracture and separate from the fuselage and crushing the vertical stabilizer and rudder downward. The pilot sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. An examination of the airplane's engine revealed that the rocker arm boss on the number 1 cylinder had fractured leaving the exhaust valve on the cylinder closed and resulting in the subsequent engine failure. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2006_DEN06CA081.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (engine failure). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Multi-level Adaptation for Automatic Landing with Engine Failure under Turbulent Weather
This paper addresses efficient feasibility evaluation of possible emergency landing sites, online navigation, and path following for automatic landing under engine-out failure subject to turbulent wea…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Simulation of Liquid Rocket Engine Failure Propagation Using Self-Evolving Scenarios
Traditional probabilistic risk assessment approaches often require failure scenarios to be explicitly defined through event sequences that are then quantified as part of the integrated analysis.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Rocket engine failure detection using system identification techiques
The theoretical foundation and application of two univariate failure detection algorithms to Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) test firing data is presented.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Rocket engine failure detection using system identification techniques
The theoretical foundation and application of two univariate failure detection algorithms to Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) test firing data is presented.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
A simulator investigation of engine failure compensation for powered-lift STOL aircraft
A piloted simulator investigation of various engine failure compensation concepts for powered-lift STOL aircraft was carried out at the Ames Research Center.
- Semantic Scholar 2019 · Article (AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum)
Impact of Engine Failure Constraints on the Initial Sizing of Hybrid-Electric GA Aircraft
Potential advantages of hybrid-electric aircraft are fuel savings, lower emissions, and reduced noise. Since these aircraft generally apply multiple power sources, they can also be designed to sustain…
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