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CHI91DEX03

1991-06-07 · WASHINGTON, Indiana, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport DCY

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

EXCEEDING THE AIRCRAFT'S PROPER DESCENT RATE BY THE PILOT IN COMMAND. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE INOPERATIVE RUNWAY EDGE LIGHTS, PROPER ALIGNMENT NOT ATTAINED, IMPROPERLY PLANNED APPROACH, AND INADEQUATE FACILITY MAINTENANCE.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT MADE A NIGHT VISUAL APPROACH TO AN AIRPORT WHERE THE RUNWAY LIGHTS WERE INOPERATIVE. THE LOCAL PROCEDURE FOR MAKING NIGHT APPROACHES TO THE AIRPORT WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE INOPERATIVE IS TO LINE UP THE AIRPORT ROTATING BEACON WITH THE MARKER LIGHT ON A GRAIN BIN ONE HALF MILE FROM THE AIRPORT, START A DESCENT, AND WAIT FOR THE AIRCRAFT LANDING LIGHTS TO ILLUMINATE THE RUNWAY. HE WAS HIGH ON THE FIRST APPROACH AND EXECUTED A GO AROUND. ON THE SECOND APPROACH HE WAS HIGH AND TO THE LEFT, BUT HAD ESTABLISHED A HIGH RATE OF DESCENT, AND FAILED TO CORRECT FOR THIS CONDITION PRIOR TO GROUND IMPACT 20 FEET LEFT OF THE RUNWAY AT APPROXIMATELY MID FIELD. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_CHI91DEX03.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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