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CHI91FA032

1990-11-26 · CHICAGO, Illinois, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport ORD

N5LL has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (PIPER PA-31-310, built 1978), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE DRIVER'S INADEQUATE VISUAL LOOKOUT. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE COMPANY'S CONFIGURING THE TRUCK WITH MIRRORS WHICH OBSTRUCT FORWARD VISIBILITY.

Factual narrative

A TAXIING TWIN TURBOJET COLLIDED AT NIGHT WITH AN AIRLINE SERVICE TRUCK IN AN INTERSECTION OF A TAXIWAY AND SERVICE ROAD. WEATHER WAS CLEAR AND DRY. THE AIRCREW SAW THE TRUCK SLOW APPROACHING THE INTERSECTION AND DID NOT NOTICE IT AGAIN UNTIL IT ENTERED THE TAXIWAY. THE DRIVER STATED HE STOPPED, DID NOT SEE THE PLANE AND PROCEEDED. THE CREW STATED TAXI LIGHTS, ROTATING BECAONS AND NAVIGATION LIGHTS WERE ON. THE TAXIWAY AND INTERSECTION WERE NOT ILLUMINATED. THE BACKGROUND IN THE DRIVER'S VIEW TO THE APPROACHING AIRPLANE WAS A BRIGHTLY LIT TERMINAL. THE DRIVER'S VIEW FROM THE TRUCK CAB WAS PARTIALLY OBSTRUCTED BY EYE-LEVEL MIRRORS MOUNTED OUTBOARD ON EACH DOOR FOR A REAR VIEW PAST THE TRUCK'S CUSTOM BODY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_CHI91FA032.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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