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CHI90IA089

1990-02-23 · MARQUETTE, Michigan, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MQT

N270MA has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (PIPER PA-46-701TP, built 2024), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT DURING TOUCHDOWN AND ROLLOUT.

Factual narrative

WEATHER WAS REPORTED AT APPROACH MINIMUMS WITH SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW. THE RUNWAY ENVIRONMENT WAS ACQUIRED AT OR ABOVE DECISION HEIGHT. AT TOUCHDOWN A WHITEOUT OCCURRED AND FORWARD VISIBILITY WAS REDUCED TO ZERO. THE CAPTAIN WHO WAS PILOTING THE AIRCRAFT LOST VISUAL REFERENCE TO THE RUNWAY AND SUBSEQUENTLY WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT WHEN IT DRIFTED TO THE RIGHT AND THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR CONTACTED DEEP SNOW. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST IN WAIST DEEP SNOW 100 FEET OFF THE RUNWAY. THE NOSE LANDING GEAR WAS DAMAGED. NONE OF THE CREW OF THREE NOR ANY OF THE 25 PASSENGERS REPORTED INJURIES. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_CHI90IA089.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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