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CHI89FA078

1989-04-26 · MT. ZION, Illinois, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport DEC

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S INTENTIONAL FLIGHT INTO KNOWN ADVERSE WEATHER. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE THE PILOT'S POOR EVALUATION OF THE WEATHER INFORMATION GIVEN HIM BY THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS.

Factual narrative

DEPARTED MARION WITHOUT A WX BRIEFING. PLT ADVISED DURING APPROACH THAT LAST PERSON MAKING APPROACH REPORTED MODERATE TO SEVERE TURBULENCE ON FINAL. SUBSEQUENTLY CLEARED TO LAND AND GIVEN WIND 360 AT 30 GUSTING 40. ALSO ADVISED THAT ANOTHER AIRCRAFT REPORTED A 20KT WINDSHEAR ON FINAL. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT WHEN HE HAD DESCENDED TO 1500 FEET MSL, THE AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERED STRONG TURBULENCE AND THE AIRSPEED WENT FROM STALL TO REDLINE. DESPITE ADJUSTMENT TO FLAPS AND THROTTLE, THE AIRPLANE WAS UNCONTROLLABLE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_CHI89FA078.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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