LAX87LA138
1987-03-08 · SANTA YNEZ, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport IZA
Aircraft involved
Factual narrative
JUST AFTER TAKEOFF, THE PLT REPORTED AN ENGINE FAILURE. UNABLE TO RETURN TO THE AIRPORT THE PLT LANDED IN AN OPEN FIELD AND COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN. DURING THE ENGINE EXAMINATION THE FUEL DIVERTER VALVE WAS REMOVED. LOW AIR PRESSURE WAS APPLIED TO ALL THREE FITTINGS, NO AIR FLOW THRU THE VALVE COULD BE OBTAINED. THE VALVE WAS DISASSEMBLED WHICH REVEALED THAT A PIECE OF THE PLUNGER CORE, A RUBBER TYPE COMPOUND, HAD BROKEN AWAY FROM THE PLUNGER AND WAS LODGED IN THE FUEL OUTLET FITTING BLOCKING THE FLOW OF FUEL. NO OTHER MECHANICAL FAILURES OR MALFUNCTIONS WERE NOTED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1987_LAX87LA138.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (engine failure). All research papers
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint Multi-level Adaptation for Automatic Landing with Engine Failure under Turbulent Weather
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- 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…