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LAX83LA207

1983-05-01 · GILROY, California, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

PRIOR TO TAKEOFF, THE ACFT WAS FULLY FUELED WITH 100 GAL OF AVIATION GASOLINE & WAS LOADED WITH 300 GAL OF NON-TOXIC FUNGICIDAL MIX. THE PLT TOOK OFF, FLEW APRX 5 MI TO A FIELD, AND AFTER CIRCLING OVER THE FIELD, MADE 2 SWATH RUNS. DURING A PROCEDURE TURN AFTER THE 2ND SWATH RUN, THE ENGINE LOST POWER. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT CRASHED IN A STEEP, NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. AN INVESTIGAITON REVEALED THAT A PORTION OF THE #5 CYLINDER WAS MISSING & WAS NOT WITH THE MAIN WRECKAGE. A VISUAL EXAM OF THE FRACTURE SURFACE INDICATED EVIDENCE OF FATIGUE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1983_LAX83LA207.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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