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CHI87LA025

1986-11-12 · DETROIT, Michigan, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport DTW

N8161K has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (BELL 47G-3B-2, built 1969), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

UPON LANDING AT DETROIT METROPOLITAN AIRPORT, THE PILOT STATED THAT HE WAS INSTRUCTED BY THE TOWER TO MAKE A RIGHT TURN ON RUNWAY 3C OR TAXIWAY J, AND TAXI TO BUTLER AVIATION. THE PILOT THEN TURNED ONTO WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS TAXIWAY J, BUT WAS ACTUALLY A PAVED AREA BETWEEN TAXIWAYS. WHEN HE REALIZED HE WAS NOT ON A TAXIWAY, HE TOLD THE TOWER AND WAS INSTRUCTED TO TAXI STRAIGHT AHEAD IF POSSIBLE AND HE WOULD BE ON THE TAXIWAY. AFTER MOVING FORWARD, A NUMBER OF FEET, THE LEFT MAIN GEAR ENCOUNTERED AN UNMARKED TRENCH, APPROXIMATELY 1 FOOT WIDE BY 15 FEET LONG AND ABOUT 4 INCHES DEEP, TEARING OFF THE LEFT MAIN GEAR. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1986_CHI87LA025.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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