NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX91LA233
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
A SHORT CIRCUIT IN THE AIRPLANE'S STROBE LIGHT ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WHICH IGNITED THE PLASTIC TUBING OF THE PITOT STATIC SYSTEM CAUSING AN INFLIGHT FIRE AND SUBSEQUENT FORCED LANDING.
Factual narrative
A CESSNA 172RG CAUGHT FIRE IN FLIGHT AT ABOUT 5,000 FEET MSL. THE PILOT ACCOMPLISHED AN EMERGENCY LANDING. SMOKE AND FUMES WERE NOTED BEING EMITTED IN THE VICINITY OF THE RIGHT FRONT SEAT RUDDER PEDALS WHILE IN FLIGHT. SHORTLY THEREAFTER EIGHTEEN INCH FLAMES ERUPTED FROM THE AREA OF THE RUDDER PEDALS. THE PILOT DIVERTED TO THE CLOSEST AIRPORT AND ACCOMPLISHED AN EMERGENCY LANDING. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THE PLASTIC TUBING OF THE PITOT STATIC HAD IGNITED. THE SOURCE OF THE IGNITION WAS ATTRIBUTED TO THE ELECTRICAL WIRING OF THE AIRPLANE STROBE LIGHT SYSTEM. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1991_LAX91LA233.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.