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ATL89FAMS3

1989-02-09 · CLEVELAND, Ohio, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport BKL

N6269Q has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (CESSNA 172S, built 2008), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT INTO THE WATER FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS.

Factual narrative

THE ACFT HAD DIVERTED INTO CLEVELAND HOPKINS AIRPORT WHEN THE WEATHER AT THE INTENDED DESTINATION OF BURKE LAKEFRONT WORSENED TO BELOW LANDING MINIMUMS. AFTER ABOUT 30 MINUTES ON THE GROUND AT CLE AND AFTER A TELEPHONE CALL TO THE COMPANY DISPATCHER THE PILOT ELECTED TO FLY THE AIR CARGO TO BKL. AFTER DEPARTING CLE, THE AIRPLANE DISAPPEARED FROM RADAR AND RADIO CONTACT WAS LOST. THE PILOT'S BODY WAS RECOVERED FROM LAKE ERIE ON JULY 10, 1989. IT WAS REPORTED THAT A SNOW STORM WAS IN PROGRESS IN THE AREA WHERE RADIO AND RADIO CONTACT WITH THE AIRPLANE WAS LOST AT THE TIME OF THE DISAPPEARANCE. THE AIRPLANE WRECKAGE HAS NOT BEEN RECOVERED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_ATL89FAMS3.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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