CHI90LA277

1990-09-28 · FORT WAYNE, Indiana, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport NONE

Aircraft involved

N91665 Navion L-17A Fatal

Probable cause & findings

POOR JUDGEMENT OF THE PILOT DUE TO IMPAIRMENT FROM CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL AND USE OF A DRUG, AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN PROPER ALTITUDE/CLEARANCE ABOVE WOODED TERRAIN. DARKNESS WAS A RELATED FACTOR.

Factual narrative

A WITNESS RPRTD THE ACFT DESCENDED TOWARD HIS HOME FROM THE NORTH, THEN IT PULLED UP & BANKED TO THE SOUTHWEST. THE WITNESS & HIS SON RAN BEHIND THE HOUSE TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON. HE RPRTD THE ACFT BANKED BACK TO THE EAST, THEN ENTERED A DESCENT & DISAPPEARED FROM HIS VIEW. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH TREES ON AN EASTERLY HEADING. DURING IMPACT, THE ACFT WAS EXTENSIVELY DAMAGED & WRECKAGE WAS SCATTERED OVER A 220 FT AREA. THE WITNESS NOTED THAT THE ENGINE SOUNDED NORMAL AS THE AIRCRAFT FLEW OVER HIS HOUSE. TOXICOLOGY TESTS OF THE PILOT'S BLOOD & VITREOUS FLUID SHOWED ALCOHOL LEVELS OF 173 MG/DL (0.173%) & 216 MG/DL (0.216%), RESPECTIVELY. ALSO, NORDIAZEPAM (A DERIVATIVE OF VALIUM) WAS FOUND IN HIS BLOOD AT A LEVEL OF 778 NG/ML. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_CHI90LA277.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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