NTSB CHI89LA170 — 1989-08-13 · BLOOMINGTON, Illinois, United States

Current FAA registration · N915Q

Make / Model: BEECH 35-A33
Year of manufacture: 1961 · 28 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR I0-470 SERIES (260 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19610811
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S ACAA9C

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N915Q Beech A33 None

Probable cause & findings

A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DUE TO CONTAMINATION (WATER, DEBRIS, AND RUST-LIKE PARTICLES) IN THE FUEL AND THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO DETECT THE CONTAMINATION DURING THE PRE-FLIGHT INSPECTION.

Factual narrative

SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, AS THE AIRCRAFT CLIMBED THROUGH ABOUT 100 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND, THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND THE PILOT MADE A FORCED LANDING. THE AIRCRAFT TOUCHED DOWN AT THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY, AND CONTINUED ON ACROSS A GRASSY AREA AND INTO A FIELD OF MATURE CORN BEFORE COMING TO A STOP. POST-ACCIDENT EXAMINATION REVEALED CONTAMINATION (WATER, DEBRIS, AND A RUST-LIKE PARTICULATE) IN THE FUEL SYSTEM. THE ENGINE RAN UP NORMALLY WITH CLEAN FUEL IN THE SYSTEM. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_CHI89LA170.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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