NTSB CHI90LA206 — 1990-07-27 · OELWEIN, Iowa, United States

Current FAA registration · N480

Make / Model: BEECH D17S
Year of manufacture: 1943 · 47 years old at event
Engine: P&W R-985 SERIES (450 hp)
Seats / Engines: 5 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19570430
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A5E898

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N480 Beech D17S None

Probable cause & findings

INADEQUATE VISUAL OUTLOOK BY THE PILOT IN COMMAND.

Factual narrative

WHILE ON A VFR CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT, THE COMMERCIAL PILOT SAID THAT HE ENCOUNTERED UNFAVORABLE WEATHER CONDITIONS, AND MADE A 180 DEGREE TURN TO RETURN TO THE NEAREST AIRPORT AND LAND. DURING THE LANDING ROLL, IN A TAIL WHEEL CONFIGURED ACFT, HE NOTICED ANOTHER ACFT ON THE RUNWAY, ABOUT 1000 FEET AHEAD. HE SAID THAT HE FELT HE COULD STOP, BUT VEERED TO THE LEFT FOR ADDITIONAL CLEARANCE, IF HE WERE UNABLE TO STOP ON THE WET RUNWAY. THE ACFT VEERED OFF THE HARD SURFACED RUNAWAY, INTO SOFT, MUDDY TERRAIN, AND OVERTURNED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_CHI90LA206.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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