N790L
Registered owner: LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY, TX (owner ≠ operator)
Operators of this aircraft
Who operated this tail, and how firmly we know it.
| Operator | Role | Period | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY | Operator | on 2020-10-07 | Operator named in NTSB report |
Accident & incident history
Maintenance disclosures
Service Difficulty Reports filed with the FAA for this airframe. Filing is largely voluntary — the number of reports is not a measure of reliability. To verify a report, search its control number at the FAA SDRS site.
8 reports on file, 1996-01-30 – 2018-11-28.
Part: ELT — MALFUNCTIONED (CARGO BAY)
ELT ACK MODEL E-04, S/N 015020. THE AMERICAN CHAMPION AIRCRAFT IN WHICH THE ELT WAS INSTALLED HAD AFTT 3868.3. BECAUSE OF THIS SAME PRIOR PROBLEM, ANOTHER ACK ELT IN ANOTHER AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN SENT TO THE MANUFACTURER FOR INSPECTION. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE ELT CIRCUITRY WAS VERY SUSCEPTIBLE TO STATIC ELECTRICITY WHICH WOULD CAUSE UN-INTENDED ACTIVATION. THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE MANUFACTURER WAS TO SHIELD THE ASSOCIATED WIRING. THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED ON FEBRUARY 20, 2017, BY COVERING ALL ELT ASSOCIATED WIRING WITH A GROUNDED SHIELD, AFTT 3377.8 THIS SEEMED TO FIX THE PROBLEM FOR A WHILE. MOST RECENTLY, IN THE FEW DAYS PRIOR TO THE REPLACEMENT, THE ACK ELT HAD SUFFERED NUMEROUS, FREQUENT UN-INTENDED ACTIVATIONS, AND LAST BEING WHILE IN STRAIGHT AND LEVEL FLIGHT AND WHILE SITTING AT REST ON THE RAMP. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT A MAJORITY OF THE UN-INTENDED ACTIVATIONS ARE DURING COOLER, DRYER WEATHER WHEN THE POSSIBILITY OF STATIC ELECTRICITY IS MORE COMMON.
Part: WIRE HARNESS — SHORTED (COPILOT SEAT)
FRACTURED WIRE HARNESS UNDER COPILOT SEAT ARCED AND SHORTED, SPARKS AND COPPER GLOBULES. POSSIBLE FIRE HAZARD IF PAPERS, ETC. UNDER SEAT. CIRCUIT BREAKER WAS SLOW TO RE-ACT. HARNESS NEEDS TO BE MORE RUGGED WITH ATTENTION TO ROUTING AND CLAMPING. (K)
Part: TUBE — CRACKED (RT WING)
FITTING FOR PRESSURE SENSOR CRACKED ON IB WING ANTI-ICE TUBE. CRACK WAS IN WELD AREA. POSSIBLY HOT AIR FROM DUCT COULD DAMAGE CONTROL PUSH PULL ROD. CHECK AREA CAREFULLY BY REMOVING LAGGING AROUND TUBE DURING INSPECTION.
Part: PRESSURE SWITCH — FAILED (HYD SYSTEM)
WHILE AIRCRAFT WAS WAITING TO DEPART, WITH BOTH ENGINES RUNNING, THE HYDRAULIC PRESSURE SWITCH INTERNALLY FAILED CAUSING ALL NR 2 SYSTEM HYDRAULIC FLUID TO EMPTY INTO THE AIRCRAFT AND ONTO THE GROUND. THE FLUID ESCAPED THROUGH A RELIEF HOLE ON THE BODY OF THE SWITCH. THE NR 2 HYDRAULIC SYSTEM FLUID EMPTIED VERY RAPIDLY.
Part: LINE — LOOSE (RT PYLON)
RIGHT ENGINE NR 2 SYSTEM HYDRAULIC PRESSURE LINE BECAME UN-SWAGED AT OUTBOARD END CAUSING COMPLETE DRAINAGE OF NR 1 HYDRAULIC SYSTEM. THIS OCCURRED IN-FLIGHT. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REVEALED IMPROPER SWAGING. TUBE WAS INSTALLED APPROXIMATELY 1 WEEK PRIOR TO INCIDENT. (X)
Part: PROXIMITY SWITCH — MALFUNCTIONED (RT MLG DOOR)
FLIGHT CREW SELECTED LANDING GEAR DOWN AND GOT THREE RED LIGHTS ON THE ANNUNCIATOR PANEL. AFTER A DELAY, THE LEFT MAIN AND RIGHT MAIN GEAR EXTENDED, BUT NOT THE NOSE. THE GEAR WAS EMERGENCY DEPLOYED AND THE AIRCRAFT LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS JACKED AND THE PROXIMITY SWITCH ON THE RIGHT MAIN DOOR ACTUATOR WAS CONFIRMED DEFECTIVE. THE ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY WITH SWITCH WAS REPLACED AND THE AIRCRAFT DISPATCHED.
Part: ACTUATOR — FAILED (TE FLAP)
RIGHT INBOARD FLAP DRIVE FAILED CAUSING UNSYMMETRICAL FLAP DEPLOYMENT INDUCING A CONTROLLABLE ROLL MOMENT. SUBMITTER SUGGESTED CAUSE AS PREMATURE WEAR.
Part: WINDSHIELD — DELAMINATED (PILOT)
PILOT'S FRONT WINDSHIELD OUTER PLY DELAMINATED AT FL 450. AN UNEVENTFUL EMERGENCY DESCENT AND LANDING WAS PERFORMED INTO WICHITA, KS. WINDSHIELD WAS SUBSEQUENTLY REPLACED AND AIRCRAFT RETURNED TO SERVICE.