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CHI89DEP02

1989-03-27 · WEST BEND, Wisconsin, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport ETB

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

PARTIAL FAILURE OF THE THROTTLE CABLE. UNSUITABLE (SOFT) TERRAIN AND TRANSMISSION WIRES IN THE LANDING AREA WERE CONSIDERED TO BE FACTORS.

Factual narrative

WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH TO LAND, THE PILOT ADVANCED THE THROTTLE TO DECREASE HIS RATE OF DESCENT; HOWEVER, HE WAS UNABLE TO OBTAIN AN INCREASE IN ENGINE POWER, THOUGH THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO RUN. HE SELECTED THE DRYEST AVAILABLE FIELD FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING. AFTER CROSSING OVER AN OBSTRUCTION (POWER LINE), HE LANDED. AFTER LANDING, THE AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERED SOFT TERRAIN & STARTED TO NOSE OVER AS IT WAS CROSSING UNDER A SECOND POWER LINE. BEFORE NOSING OVER, ITS TAIL SNAGGED ON THE SECOND POWER LINE & THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST ON ITS NOSE. AN EXAM OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THE THROTTLE CABLE HAD PARTIALLY FAILED IN SUCH A MANNER THAT THROTTLE MOVEMENT WOULD NOT OPERATE THE THROTTLE ARM. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_CHI89DEP02.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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