NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CHI89LA170
Registry · N915Q
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
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
Registrant of record
MCKIBBEN JOHN H
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
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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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type. Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- arXiv 2025 · arXiv preprint
Leveraging Large Self-Supervised Time-Series Models for Transferable Diagnosis in Cross-Aircraft Type Bleed Air System
Bleed Air System (BAS) is critical for maintaining flight safety and operational efficiency, supporting functions such as cabin pressurization, air conditioning, and engine anti-icing.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2023 · Conference paper
Airline Pilot Risk Profiling by Using Unstable Approach Management Case
Risk and human decision-making cannot be separated from each other. Many of theories and studies have tried to analyze pilots’ decision-making processes, risk factors, and preference behavior in the a…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Validation of Proposed Go-Around Criteria Under Various Environmental Conditions
This paper evaluates the effects of environmental conditions on touchdown performance under varying approach states and validates proposed go-around criteria developed using data from a previously con…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Pilot Evaluation of Proposed Go-Around Criteria for Transport Category Aircraft
The primary objective of this study was to capture pilot feedback and decision-making with regard to proposed, hypothetical, go-around criteria that were developed based on previous research.
- NASA NTRS 2018 · Other
A Formal Methods Approach to the Analysis of Mode Confusion
The goal of the new NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) is to reduce the civil aviation fatal accident rate by 80% in ten years and 90% in twenty years.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2014 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Aerodynamic Optimization of Box Wing – A Case Study
The optimization of a possible medium range box wing commercial airliner is presented in three stages. Preliminary research is used to determine various parameters for a potential box wing model, and …
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