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NYC91LA129

1991-05-11 · LUMBERTON, New Jersey, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport N14

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN AIRSPEED AND THE RESULTANT INADVERTENT STALL. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE LOOSE OIL FILTER.

Factual narrative

WHILE CRUISING AT 3500 FEET, THE PILOT EXPERIENCED A HEAVY VIBRATION IN THE ENGINE AND WAS VECTORED TO A NEARBY AIRPORT. HE WAS HIGH AS HE TURNED ONTO FINAL APPROACH. HE RETRACTED THE WING FLAPS AND THE LANDING GEAR, AND ADDED POWER TO TRY FOR A NEARBY FIELD. THE ENGINE FAILED TO RESPOND AND HE LANDED HARD NEXT TO THE RUNWAY. WITNESS REPORTED THE AIRPLANE APPEARED TO STALL FROM A HEIGHT OF 40 TO 50 FEET. POST-CRASH EXAMINATION REVEALED THE OIL SCREEN HAD BEEN REPLACED WITH AN OIL FILTER ADAPTER WHICH HAD COME LOOSE AND THE ENGINE OIL ESCAPED THROUGH THE OPENING. THE $4 CONNECTING ROD FAILED DUE TO OIL STARVATION AND PENETRATED THE ENGINE CASE. THE THREADS ON THE OIL FILTER ADAPTER WERE WORN AS WERE THE MATING THREADS ON THE OIL PUMP HOUSING. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_NYC91LA129.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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