LAX89FA030
1988-11-01 · CABAZON, California, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport LSE
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT'S POOR DECISION AND MISJUDGEMENT OF DISTANCE. THE SEPARATION OF THE CYLINDER, FAILURE OF THE PROPELLER TO FEATHER, AND IMPACT WITH WIRES AND A RESIDENCE WERE FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT.
Factual narrative
THE PLT CONTACTED THE ARSA CONTROLLER FOR ADVISORIES AFTER LOSING PWR ON THE RIGHT ENG OVER AN AIR FORCE BASE. THE CONTROLLER ADVISED THE PLT THAT HIS POSITION WAS NEAR A CIVILIAN ARPT WITH LIMITED MAINTENANCE FACILITIES AND AN AIR FORCE BASE. THE PLT ADVISED THAT HE DESIRED TO CONTINUE TO A LARGER CIVILIAN ARPT ALONG HIS ROUTE WHERE HE COULD OBTAIN SERVICE. THE PLT THEN INFORMED THE CONTROLLER THAT HE COULD BARLEY SEE THE GROUND AND THAT HE WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ALT DUE TO THE PROPELLER NOT FEATHERING. THE ACFT OVERFLEW A SMALL CIVILIAN ARPT AND THE PLT TOLD THE UNICOM OPERATOR THAT HE WOULD ATTEMPT TO LAND ON AN INTERSTATE HWY. THE ACFT OVERFLEW THE HWY AND IMPACTED AN ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION LINE AND COLLIDED WITH A RESIDENCE. POST ACCIDENT INSPECTION REVEALED THE RIGHT ENG #3 CYLINDER HEAD FRACTURED ALLOWING THE HEAD TO DISPLACE OUTWARD 3/8 INCH. FRACTURE RESULTED FROM FATIGUE AT THREADED AREA BTW HEAD AND CYLINDER. THE PROPELLER GOVERNOR OPERATED NORMALLY DURING FUNCTIONAL TESTING AFTER THE ACCIDENT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1988_LAX89FA030.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 (maintenance). All research papers
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2026 · Journal article (IJAAA) From Reactive to Predictive: A hybrid Trust-Mediated Adoption Framework for Data-Driven Maintenance in Distributed-Authority Aviation Environments
Modern aviation maintenance operates within increasingly data-intensive technological environments, yet the operational integration of predictive maintenance into routine decision-making remains incon…
- Semantic Scholar 2026 · Article (Reliability Engineering & System Safety) Understanding human error in military aviation maintenance: The role of Performance shaping factors, cognitive workload and error orientation
- Semantic Scholar 2025 · Article (Applied Sciences) Decision-Making Framework for Aviation Safety in Predictive Maintenance Strategies
The implementation of predictive maintenance (PM) in aviation presents unique challenges due to strict safety requirements, complex operational environments, and regulatory constraints.
- Semantic Scholar 2024 · Article (Defence Science Journal) Modelling of Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance Using HFACS ME Human Factors Analysis and Classification System Maintenance Extension and Bayesian Network
Aircraft maintenance is a complex task involving a skilled human workforce, spare parts, and various other resources. Human factors are an inherent element of the human workforce.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (JAAER) A New Trajectory in UAV Safety: Leveraging Reinforcement Learning for Distance Maintenance Under Wind Variations
In the field of aviation, safety is a critical cornerstone, and the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems is deeply connected with this principle.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (JAAER) Low-Resource Automatic Speech Recognition Domain Adaptation – A Case-Study in Aviation Maintenance
With timeliness and efficiency being critical in the aviation maintenance industry, the need has been growing for smart technological solutions that optimize and streamline the different underlying ta…