NTSB CHI89LA072 — 1989-04-12 · INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, United States

Current FAA registration · N4445W

Make / Model: BEECH A60
Year of manufacture: 1973 · 16 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING TI0-541 SER (310 hp)
Seats / Engines: 6 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date: 19731022
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A55C95

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N4445W Beech A60 None

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT MISJUDGED ALTITUDE AND/OR DISTANCE TO THE RUNWAY WILE ON FINAL APPROACH TO LAND. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARK NIGHT AND PILOT FATIGUE.

Factual narrative

WHILE ON THE FINAL APPROACH, APPROXIMATELY 1000 FEET FROM THE APPROACH END OF THE RUNWAY, THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE FIRST OF A SERIES OF APPROACH LIGHTS AND SUPPORT STRUCTURES. THE AIRCRAFT DAMAGED SEVENTEEN APPROACH LIGHTS ON A TOTAL OF FIVE SUPPORT STRUCTURES, BUT WAS SAFELY LANDED AND TAXIED TO THE RAMP. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE EXECUTED A NON-STANDARD APPROACH AT A HIGHER THAN NORMAL AIRSPEED, IN AN EFFORT TO ACCOMMODATE FASTER TRAFFIC BEHIND HIM ON THE APPROACH. HE SAID HIS NON-STABILIZED APPROACH RESULTED IN 'AN UNDETECTED INCREASE IN THE RATE OF DESCENT...' HE SAID THAT THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED AT THE END OF A FATIGUING DAY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_CHI89LA072.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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