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CHI89FA026

1988-11-16 · CHICAGO, Illinois, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MDW

N271MA has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (AMERICAN CHAMPION AIRCRAFT 7GCAA, built 2003), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE FIRST TAKEOFF WAS ABORTED DUE TO A PERCEIVED ENGINE PROBLEM. SIX MINUTES LATER ON SECOND TAKEOFF, THE AIRCRAFT CLIMBED TO 50 FEET, DRIFTED TO THE RIGHT, ROLLED RIGHT AND IMPACTED IN THE INFIELD. THIS WAS A SINGLE PILOT OPERATION IN A COMPLEX AIRCRAFT. WINDS EXCEEDED THE DEMONSTRATED CROSSWIND LIMITATION OF THE AIRCRAFT. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE THAT THE PILOT WAS USING THE SEAT BELT OR SHOULDER HARNESS. POST CRASH INVESTIGATION OF BOTH ENGINES AND PROPS DETERMINED THAT THERE WERE NO OPERATIONAL DEFECTS AND THAT BOTH WERE PORDUCING POWER AT THE TIME OF IMPACT. STRONG GUSTY WINDS VARYING IN INTENSITY FROM 15 TO 30 KNOTS AND VARYING IN DIRECTION FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHWEST WERE PREVALENT AT THE AIRPORT ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT. THE PROP CONDITION LEVERS WERE FOUND IN THE TAXI POSITION AND THE POWER LEVERS WERE SET WITH THE LEFT ENGINE NEAR FLIGHT IDLE POSITION AND THE RIGHT ENGINE AT THE TAKEOFF POSITION. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_CHI89FA026.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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