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CHI90LA097

1990-03-16 · ROCK FALLS, Illinois, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SQI

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

AN ENCOUNTER WITH WIND CONDITIONS WHICH EXCEEDED THE CAPABILITY OF THE STUDENT PILOT.

Factual narrative

STUDENT PILOT ON SECOND SOLO CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT WAS ATTEMPTING TO LAND ON RUNWAY 25 AT INTENDED DESTINATION. WINDS WERE 240 DEGREES AT 15 KNOTS GUSTING TO 30 KNOTS. WHEN THE STUDENT WAS APPROXIMATELY 5 FEET ABOVE RUNWAY, STRONG GUST CAUGHT AIRCRAFT AND FLIPPED IT ON ITS BACK IN THE INFIELD. AIRCRAFT SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED, STUDENT UNINJURED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_CHI90LA097.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.