NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX92LA171
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE TOTAL FAILURE OF THE LANDING GEAR STRUT (TRUNNION) DUE TO FATIGUE. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS RELATED TO THE INADEQUATELY PERFORMED RECENT ANNUAL INSPECTION.
Factual narrative
ACCORDING TO THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND, WHO WAS DEMONSTRATING HER COMPETENCY TO THE DESIGNATED PILOT EXAMINER FOR THE PURPOSE OF OBTAINING HER MULTIENGINE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR CERTIFICATE, NO ANOMALIES OCCURRED WITH THE AIRPLANE DURING THE FLIGHT. THE LANDING APPEARED NORMAL EXCEPT THAT DURING ROLLOUT THE GEAR DOWN AND LOCKED LIGHT TURNED OFF. THE GEAR WARNING HORN SOUNDED AND THE LEFT GEAR BROKE OFF THE AIRPLANE. THE PILOT LOST CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE, IT VEER OFF THE RUNWAY, AND THEN COLLIDED WITH A SIGN. EXAM OF THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR REVEALED IT POSSESSED A PREEXISTING FATIGUE CRACK ON THE TRUNNION'S OUTER DIAMETER SURFACE IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE LOWER FILLET RADIUS OF THE WEB. THE CRACK HAD ENLARGED TO A WIDTH OF 1.25 INCHES BEFORE THE TRUNNION FINALLY SEPARATED. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE'S LAST ANNUAL INSPECTION HAD BEEN PERFORMED ABOUT 53 FLIGHT HOURS AND ABOUT 1.5 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1992_LAX92LA171.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.