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LAX84FA049 · Piper 601P

6 Nov 1983 · HELENDALE, CA, United States

Piper 601P · Accident: loss of engine power en route

From Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) to Hollywood Burbank/Bob Hope Airport (BUR)

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Event

NTSB case
LAX84FA049
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 601P

Aircraft type
Piper 601
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
N9774Q
Operator
Paul M. Guyer · private individual
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), Las Vegas, NVTo Hollywood Burbank/Bob Hope Airport (BUR), Burbank, CA
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
En route · cruise
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
Loss of engine power
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

  • Other maintenance personnel › Maintenance, installation, improper
  • Pilot in command › In-flight planning/decision, improper
  • Pilot in command › Unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area, selected
  • Turbine assembly, shroud › Chafed

Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.

NTSB narrative

THE PILOT STATED THAT DURING CRUISE FLIGHT THE RIGHT ENGINE MANIFOLD PRESSURE FELL TO ZERO. THE ENGINE WAS FEATHERED AND SET UP FOR SINGLE ENGINE PERFORMANCE BUT THE ACFT CONTINUED TO DESCEND. SUITABLE AIRPORTS WERE FLOWN OVER DURING THE DESCENT AND THE ACFT FINALLY LANDED IN AN ALFALFA FIELD. EXAMIATION OF THE RIGHT ENGINE REVEALED SEVERE FIRE DAMAGE TO THE IGNITION WIRING HARNESS AND BOTH MAGNETO 'P' LEADS SHORTED. AN OIL VENT HOSE ROUTED ON THE OUTBOARD SIDE OF THE INBOARD TURBOCHARGER ALSO DISPLAYED SEVERE HEAT DAMAGE. THE OUTER LAYER OF A HEAT SHIELD ATTACHED TO THE TURBOCHARGER WAS FOUND TORN OPEN AND THE HEAT RESISTANT MATERIAL WAS PUSHED ASIDE OR MISSING FROM AN AREA APPROX ONE INCH SQUARE. THERIGHT ENGINE AND OVERHAULED TURBOCHARGERS HAD BEEN INSTALLED APPROX 9 HOURS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT ACCORDING TO THE HOBBS METER.

Verbatim NTSB analysis from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record LAX84FA049
Event ID
20001214X45093
Case number
LAX84FA049
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: 7ad09b2b61158f51a491e8b1c1d5d1c034dbe6220f21c59937121c4ccbeb35e0; retrieved 2026-09-23T21:08:06.433Z.