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Atlas / NTSB / CHI91DEE01

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event CHI91DEE01

1990-11-03 DEKALB, Illinois, United States Airport · DKB Fatal 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S ATTEMPT TO PERFORM AEROBATIC MANEUVERS AT LOW ALTITUDE.

Factual narrative

A PRIVATE PILOT REFUELED HIS HOMEBUILT AIRCRAFT AND TALKED WITH ACQUAINTENCES AND SERVICE PERSONNEL BEFORE TAKEOFF. WITNESSES ON THE FLIGHT LINE DESCRIBE A NORMAL TAKEOFF TO LESS THAN 100 FEET ABOVE THE RUNWAY, WHERE THE AIRPLANE PUSHED OVER AND ACCELERATED IN LEVEL FLIGHT. ABEAM THE TERMINAL AND FLIGHT LINE, THE AIRPLANE ROLLED RIGHT TO THE INVERTED POSITION AND PAUSED BEFORE CONTINUING ITS RIGHT ROLL. THE AIRPLANE STRUCK GROUND WITH THE RIGHT WINGTIP SHORT OF A COMPLETE REVOLUTION. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_CHI91DEE01.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.