Event MIA89LA069

1989-01-13 SEBRING, Florida, United States None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

N74473 Bellanca 14-13-2 None

Probable cause & findings

FAILURE OF THE CAM GEAR SNAP RING, WHICH ALLOWED THE CAMSHAFT GEAR TO BECOME DISCONNECTED. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE TREES IN THE EMERGENCY LANDING AREA.

Factual narrative

DURING FLT AT AN ALT OF APRX 1000 FT, THE ENG LOST POWER. ATTEMPTS TO RESTART THE ENG WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH TREES DURING AN EMERGENCY LANDING. AN EXAM OF THE ENG REVEALED THE CAM GEAR SNAP RING (FRANKLIN PART NO: 19983) HAD FAILED & ALLOWED THE CAMSHAFT GEAR TO ROTATE TO AN OUT-OF-TIME CONDITION. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ENG LOST POWER & THE PISTONS CONTACTED THE INTAKE & EXHAUST VALVES. THE ENG HAD A TOTAL TIME OF APRX 1205 HRS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_MIA89LA069.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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