Piper PA-31T-620 incident near Medford, Oregon, November 5, 1992
On November 5, 1992 at about 10:30 am local time, a Piper PA-31T-620, registered N131AF, was involved in an incident near Medford, Oregon. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FATIGUE FAILURE OF THE ELEVATOR CONTROL TUBE ROD END BEARING RESULTING IN A LOSS OF ELEVATOR CONTROL.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 5, 1992 · about 10:30 am local time
- Place
- Medford, Oregon · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31T-620 · all PA-31T-620s on the register
- Registration
- N131AF · registry record · serial 31T-7820005
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING CRUISE FLIGHT AT FLIGHT LEVEL 230, THE AIRPLANE SUDDENLY PITCHED UP AND THE AUTOPILOT DISENGAGED. THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO CONTROL THE AIRPLANE WITH THE CONTROL YOKE. USING POWER AND TRIM CONTROL, HE FINALLY REGAINED CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE AND MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING AT SACRAMENTO WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE THREADED PORTION OF THE ROD END BEARING, P/N 49261-02, HAD SEPARATED AT THE POINT WHERE THE THREADS ARE INSERTED INTO THE AFT END OF THE ELEVATOR CONTROL TUBE ASSEMBLY, P/N 40847-07. THE ELEVATOR CONTROL TUBE CONNECTS TO THE ELEVATOR PITCH HORN. METALLURGICAL EXAMINATION SHOWED THAT THE SEPARATION WAS DUE TO A FATIGUE FAILURE. THE AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN INSPECTED AT 37 HRS AND 134 HRS BEFORE THE INCIDENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH AN APPROVED AIRCRAFT INSPECTION PROGRAM. NEITHER INSPECTION SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSED AN INSPECTION OF THE ELEVATOR CONTROL TUBE ASSEMBLY.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,813 hours in all; 280 in this make and model; 301 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 4,588 as pilot in command; 1,714 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,097 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, October 26, 1992; 37 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-28 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Ameriflight INC.
The flight
- Departed from: PDX Portland OR at 10:00 am
- Destination: OAK Oakland CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 340° at 20 knots
- Visibility: 75 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 18°F (-8°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.