North American NAVION A accident near Stonewall, Mississippi, October 5, 2018
On October 5, 2018 at about 7:45 pm local time, a 1946 North American NAVION A, registered N969TR, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Stonewall, Mississippi. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The fatigue failure of the No. 3 cylinder exhaust valve, which resulted in a fractured camshaft and a total loss of engine power.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 5, 2018 · about 7:45 pm local time
- Place
- Stonewall, Mississippi · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- North American NAVION A No Series, built 1946 · all NAVION As on the register
- Registration
- N969TR · no longer on the register · serial NAV-4-342
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that, while en route to his destination, the airplane's engine sputtered and then lost total power. During the subsequent forced landing to a highway, the airplane landed hard, and the landing gear collapsed; the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed the No. 3 cylinder exhaust valve fractured where the stem transitioned to the valve head seat. The valve head impacted the No. 3 piston and became lodged between the crankcase and the camshaft, which resulted in the fracture of the camshaft. Fatigue cracking, which initiated at multiple sites, propagated through the valve stem. The presence of a tapered stem near the fracture surface, high temperature oxide deposits, and fatigue striations on the fracture surface suggested that the stem underwent spallation or erosion of the oxides formed during high temperature exposure, which would reduce the stem cross-section over time, increasing the likelihood of initiating fatigue cracking. Additionally, a localized area of wear on the top face of the valve stem was most likely due to the valve not rotating during operation, which could create hot spots or improper thermal dissipation in the hottest parts of the valve and lead to valve damage or failure.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Loss of engine power (total) during enroute defining event
- Hard landing during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Engine (reciprocating) › (general) › Failure
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Engine (reciprocating) › Recip eng cyl section › Failure
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Engine (reciprocating) › Recip eng cyl section › Fatigue/wear/corrosion
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 568 hours in all; 264 in this make and model; 11 in the last 90 days; 8.3 in the last 30 days; 439.2 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: April 30, 2017
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,336 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 2018; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,769 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental E-225-4 (piston); 1,705 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MEI Meridian MS at 7:38 pm
- Destination: JKA Gulf Shores AL
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; scat at 4,800 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.02 inHg
- Observation at 7:58 pm from MEI, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ERA19LA008.