NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX90FA209
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
A LOSS OF ENGINE OIL PRESSURE DUE TO IMPROPER MAINTENANCE PERFORMED ON THE ENGINE OIL FILLER CAP BY AN UNKNOWN PERSON. IN ADDITION, THE PILOT MISJUDGED HIS LANDING APPROACH TO THE RUNWAY DURING THE FORCED LANDING WHICH RESULTED IN AN OVERSHOOT AND COLLISION WITH OBJECTS. A TAILWIND CONTRIBUTED TO THE OVERSHOOT.
Factual narrative
THE ENGINE LOST OIL PRESS WHILE CLIMBING THROUGH 6,000 FT, AND THE PILOT REQUESTED TO RETURN TO HIS DEPARTURE AIRPORT. ATC INFORMED THE PILOT OF A CLOSER AIRPORT. THE PILOT SECURED THE ENGINE, FEATHERED THE PROP, AND MADE A POWER-OFF DESCENT TO THE AIRPORT. THE PILOT ELECTED TO MAKE A DOWNWIND APPROACH TO RWY 12L DUE TO HIS ALTITUDE. THE AIRPLANE OVERFLEW THE RUNWAY AND TOUCHED DOWN PAST THE DEPARTURE END. IT PENETRATED THE AIRPORT PERIMETER FENCE, STRUCK SEVERAL TREES, A SIGN POST, A LIGHT POLE, AND AN AUTO BEFORE COMING TO REST IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED THE LOSS OF PRESSURE WAS DUE TO OIL LEAKING. THE OIL FILLER CAP WAS FOUND IMPROPERLY ADJUSTED AFTER THE ORIGINAL INSTALLATION. THE MAINTENANCE MANUAL DOES NOT APPROVE ANY FIELD REPAIRS ON THE OIL FILLER CAP ENGAGING MECHANISMS. THE AIRPLANE'S FLAPS WERE FOUND AT A 7 DEG INTERMEDIATE SETTING. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1990_LAX90FA209.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
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Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall, maintenance). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2023 · Conference paper
The Value of Strong Partnerships to Build a Successful Aviation Maintenance Career Pathway Program for Transitioning Military Service Members
The aerospace industry is competing with other industries for a qualified workforce, and many of those competing industries are investing heavily in creating workforce development pipelines.
- 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…
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- 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.
- 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…
- 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.
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