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CHI89LA146

1989-07-27 · NAPPANEE, Indiana, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport C03

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND'S IMPROPER PREFLIGHT CALCULATION OF WEIGHT AND BALANCE AND THE AIRCRAFT'S INADEQUATE CLIMB CAPABILITY DUE TO LOW COMPRESSION.

Factual narrative

WHILE ATTEMPTING TO TAKEOFF ON A PART 135 CARGO FLIGHT, THE PILOT OBSERVED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS NOT DEMONSTRATING A POSITIVE RATE OF CLIMB. HE ABORTED THE TAKEOFF, BUT WAS UNABLE TO STOP THE AIRPLANE ON THE RUNWAY. IT CONTINUED ACROSS A FIELD, ROADWAY, AND DITCH, SEPARATING THE LEFT WING FROM THE AIRPLANE. POST- ACCIDENT EVALUATION REVEALED 4 OF THE 6 CYLINDERS TO HAVE INADEQUATE COMPRESSION, THE MAXIMUM GROSS WEIGHT WAS EXCEEDED, AND THE CENTER OF GRAVITY WAS AFT OF ACCEPTABLE LIMITS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_CHI89LA146.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.