NTSB CAROL · Event
Event FTW89LA144
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
TOTAL FAILURE OF THE ENGINE ASSEMBLY/ROCKER ARM/TAPPET SHAFT.
Factual narrative
DURING A NIGHT CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT, THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND DURING THE FORCED LANDING, THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED TREES AND THEN THE TERRAIN. DURING A PARTIAL TEARDOWN OF THE ENGINE, IT WAS FOUND THAT THE NUMBER 3 CYLINDER EXHAUST VALVE ROCKER ARM SHAFT HAD BROKEN. THERE WAS ALSO A LARGE GAP BETWEEN THE ROCKER ARM AND THE EXHAUST VALVE STEM. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1989_FTW89LA144.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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