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Atlas / NTSB / CHI79FA018

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event CHI79FA018

1978-12-03 WHEELING, Illinois, United States Fatal 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N6DF

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

GRUMMAN G-21A

Year of manufacture

1945 · 33 years old at event

Engine

P&W R-985 SERIES (450 hp)

Seats / Engines

8 seats · 2 engines

Last airworthiness date

19771028

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A7C2DE

Registrant of record

MABEE ROY W

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Historical record (pre-1982)

NTSB recorded this accident in the pre-1982 coded-field schema — structured fields rather than free-text narrative. Decoded codes use established NTSB single-letter taxonomies; cause factors remain verbatim pending the Form 6120.4 codebook lookup.

Aircraft

BEECH V35A · N6DF

Damage

Destroyed

Craft type

Airplane

Classification

Accident

Light condition

Dusk

Weather

IMC

Phase of flight

Cruise — level (EA)

Operator type

Business

Airport

PALWAUKEE

Kind of flying

B0

Weather at impact

Sky

OVERCAST

Wind

240° / 15 kt

Temp

32° F

Aircraft history

Serial number

0000000D8841

Total time

1,575 hrs

Pilot

Certificate

Commercial — instrument

Total hours

1,164

Age

48

Investigator remarks

PILOT REPORTED HEAVY STRUCTURAL ICING.

Cause factors

  • 64/A/27 A
    PILOT IN COMMAND IMPROPER IN-FLIGHT DECISIONS OR PLANNING Cause — pilot/personnel action
  • 88/A/74 A
    MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS AIRFRAME ICE Cause — pilot/personnel action
  • 82/J/A J
    WEATHER LOW CEILING Joint cause
  • 82/J/C J
    WEATHER FOG Joint cause
  • 82/J/F J
    WEATHER ICING CONDITIONS-INCLUDES SLEET,FREEZING RAIN,ETC. Joint cause

Decoded against the NTSB Form 6120.4 cause-factor codebook (ct_Pre1982 table). Each row shows the raw triplet, modifier (Cause / Factor / etc.), category, and specific code.

Source: NTSB pre-1982 historical archive. Docket 3 4429. Source file NTSB_1978_3_4429.txt. Modern CAROL record on data.ntsb.gov ↗.