CHI93LA311 · Piper PA-28R-200
Piper PA-28R-200 · Accident: partial loss of engine power (mechanical failure) during initial climb
From Velana International Airport (MLE) to Mankato Regional Airport (MKT)
Event
- NTSB case
- CHI93LA311
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
- Completed
- API-reported fatalities
- 0 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- 0
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- General aviation
- WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
- Visual Meteorological Cond
Piper PA-28R-200
- Aircraft type
- Piper PA-28
- Category
- Airplane
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- N233LC
- Operator
- Unknown
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route
- From Velana International Airport (MLE)To Mankato Regional Airport (MKT), MANKATO, MN
- Aircraft age
- Not recorded
- Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
- Initial climb
- First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
- Partial loss of engine power (mechanical failure)
- Also codedOther events the NTSB coded in the sequence, such as a wire strike after a loss of power. Flight Findings uses them for its kinds of event. Glossary
- Pole
- DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
- Substantial
Cause areas
- Induction air ducting › Blocked(partial)
- Other maintenance personnel › Maintenance, inspection, improper
Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.
NTSB narrative
THE PILOT REPORTED THAT AFTER TAKEOFF, A GRADUAL LOSS OF POWER OCCURRED DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB-OUT. DURING A FORCED LANDING ABOUT 3/4 MILE NORTHWEST OF THE AIRPORT, THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH A SOCCER FIELD GOAL POST, THEN CRASHED TO THE GROUND. DURING A POST-ACCIDENT TEST RUN, THE ENGINE OPERATED TO THE MANUFACTURER'S SPECIFICATIONS. NO ANOMALIES WERE FOUND IN THE EXHAUST OR FUEL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS. FURTHER EXAM REVEALED THAT AN OBJECT (ALTERNATE AIR DOOR, PN: 23809-07) HAD LODGED INSIDE THE ENGINE INDUCTION SYSTEM, ADJACENT TO THE ALTERNATE AIR ADAPTER ASSEMBLY. IT WAS FOR AN EARLIER MODEL PA-28R AIRCRAFT & SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN INSTALLED ON THIS AIRCRAFT. THE AIR BOX COVER ON THIS AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN REPLACED IN 1986 WITH A PN:67745-00 DOOR, WHICH WAS THE CORRECT PART NUMBER. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT THE INCORRECT DOOR HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY INSTALLED, BUT IT HAD BROKEN OFF & WAS INGESTED DOWNSTREAM IN THE INDUCTION SYSTEM. EVIDENTLY, THE MECHANIC, WHO REPLACE THE AIR BOX COVER, HAD OVERLOOKED OR COULD NOT SEE THE BROKEN DOOR.
Probable cause
IMPROPER MAINTENANCE/INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT BY (OTHER) MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL, AND SUBSEQUENT BLOCKAGE OF THE INDUCTION AIR SYSTEM BY AN OBJECT (ALTERNATE AIR DOOR) THAT WAS NOT REMOVED DURING PREVIOUS MAINTENANCE.
Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset
Sources
NTSB record CHI93LA311
- Event ID
- 20001211X13096
- Case number
- CHI93LA311
- Dataset
- historical-pre2008
- Source SHA-256
- 89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
- Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
- Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
- The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
- API snapshot SHA-256: 863f0961d7eaacad123459cf5afe7c5f002eaec12fba47f293ee474dc7749987; retrieved 2026-09-23T01:46:59.655Z.