NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX92LA252
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
IMPROPER RUDDERVATOR BALANCING THAT RESULTED IN RUDDERVATOR FLUTTER. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS INSUFFICIENT MAINTENANCE INFORMATION TO ASSURE THAT AD COMPLIANCE AND ELEVATOR BALANCING WAS PERFORMED, AND AN INADEQUATE ANNUAL INSPECTION PROCEDURE THAT ASSURED PROPER MAINTENANCE COMPLIANCE.
Factual narrative
DURING A CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT, THE OWNER/PILOT AND AN INSTRUCTOR PILOT WERE DESCENDING THROUGH A HOLE IN AN OVERCAST AT 135 KNOTS. THE V-TAIL DESIGNED AIRPLANE SUDDENLY EXPERIENCED 4 VIOLENT PITCH OSCILLATIONS. THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT, WHO WAS FLYING THE AIRPLANE, REDUCED AIRSPEED AND LEVELED THE WINGS. THIS ACTION STOPPED THE PITCH OSCILLATIONS. A POST FLIGHT INSPECTION REVEALED DAMAGE TO THE REAR FUSELAGE BULKHEAD, WRINKLING OF THE EMPENNAGE SKIN AND LOSS OF PAINT. THE AIRPLANE DID NOT HAVE ANY PLACARDED AIRSPEED RESTRICTIONS OR A VERIFICATION OF PROPER WEIGHT AND BALANCE CALCULATIONS. THE OWNER DID NOT PROVIDE ANY DOCUMENTATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE AD, OR OF PROPER BALANCING OF THE LEFT RUDDERVATOR THAT HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY EXCHANGED AND INSTALLED. THE MANUFACTURER REPORTED THAT THE EMPENNAGE DAMAGE WAS TYPICAL OF RUDDERVATOR FLUTTER. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1992_LAX92LA252.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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