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MKC89LA163

1989-07-30 · CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CID

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE FAILURE OF THE PILOT IN COMMAND TO MAINTAIN ALIGNMENT WITH THE RUNWAY AND EXCESSIVE AIRCRAFT CONTROL IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE GROUND. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE PILOT'S DIVERTED ATTENTION WHICH RESULTED FROM HAVING TO SHUT DOWN THE LEFT ENGINE.

Factual narrative

THE PLT SAID THAT ABOUT 15 MINUTES INTO AN IFR CROSS COUNTRY FLT, HE NOTICED OIL STREAMING FROM THE LEFT ENGINE, AND A LOW OIL PRESSURE INDICATION. REDUCTION OF POWER FAILED TO EFFECT THE LOW OIL PRESSURE, SO THE PILOT SHUT THE LEFT ENGINE DOWN AND RETURNED TO THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT. DURING THE IFR APPROACH, HE ENGAGED THE AUTO-PILOT IN ORDER TO GET AN APPROACH PLATE. THE A/P TRIMMED THE ACFT NOSE HIGH TO HOLD ALTITUDE RESULTING IN A STALL BUFFET. THE PLT MANAGED TO REGAIN CONTROL OF THE ACFT, AND WHEN HE MADE VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE AIRPORT, HE WAS NOT LINED UP WITH THE PROPER RUNWAY. HE ATTEMPTED TO MANEUVER TO THE INTENDED RUNWAY, BUT LANDED HARD ON THE GRASS LEFT OF THE RUNWAY. THE LANDING GEAR WAS TORN OFF THE ACFT AND BOTH PROPELLERS WERE DAMAGED. POST FLIGHT INVESTIGATION REVEALED A FAILED OIL SEAL ON THE LEFT ENGINE STARTER DRIVE ASSEMBLY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_MKC89LA163.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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