NTSB CHI87LA019 — 1986-11-17 · BETHALTO, Illinois, United States

Current FAA registration · N1631E

Make / Model: CESSNA 172N
Year of manufacture: 1978 · 8 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19780812
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A0FF53

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N1631E Cessna 172N Serious

Factual narrative

THE PILOT ATTEMPTED AN ILS APPROACH INTO AN AIRFIELD (RUNWAY 29) THAT WAS REPORTING A ZERO FOOT OBSCURED CEILING WITH 1/16 MILE VISIBILTIY AND FOG. HE STATED THAT HE BECAME CONFUSED DURING THE LAST PORTION OF THE APPROACH AND WAS BEGINNING A MISSED APPROACH WHEN THE ACFT STRUCK A TREE AND IMPACTED THE GROUND. THE IMPACT OCCURRED 1/2 MILE SOUTH OF THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 29. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1986_CHI87LA019.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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