NTSB FTW88LA002 — 1987-10-08 · KERRVILLE, Texas, United States

Current FAA registration · N57257

Make / Model: MOONEY M20J
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A758FE

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N57257 Mooney M-20-J None

Factual narrative

ACFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH A ROAD SIGN AND THE GRND DURING AN OFF ARPT EMERGENCY LNDG FOLLOWING A COMPLETE ENG FAILURE DURING DESCENT. PLT STATED THAT ABOUT 20 MINS OUT FROM HIS DEST, THE OIL PRESS DECREASED INTO THE YELLOW ARC, BUT OIL TEMP AND CYL HEAD TEMP REMAINED NORMAL. DURING THE DESCENT, OIL PRESS DECREASED INTO THE RED AND THE ENG STARTED VIBRATING. SHORTLY THEREAFTER THE ENG SEIZED. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE #4 PISTON CONNECTING ROD HAD SEPARATED DUE TO OIL STARVATION, RESULTING IN SEVERE INTERNAL DAMAGE TO THE ENG. TWO QTS OF HEAVY, BLACK OIL WERE DRAINED FRM THE ENG. THE CAUSE OF THE OIL STARVATION WAS NOT DETERMINED DURING THE INVESTIGATION. THE PLTS STATED THAT THEY HAD DEPARTED 4.5 HRS PRIOR TO THE ACDT WITH SLIGHTLY OVER 5 QTS OF OIL IN THE ENG. ENG HAD BEEN OPERATED A TOTAL OF 320 HRS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_FTW88LA002.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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