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CHI91FA126

1991-04-09 · CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wisconsin, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport EAU

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE FIRST PILOT'S CONTINUED FLIGHT IN KNOWN ADVERSE WEATHER. FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT WERE THE FIRST PILOT'S POOR WEATHER EVALUATION, THE SECOND PILOT'S COMPLACENCY AND THE FIRST PILOT'S SELF INDUCED PRESSURE TO COMPLETE A CHECKOUT IN MODEL.

Factual narrative

TWO INSTRUMENT RATED PILOTS INTENDED A CHECKOUT IN MODEL FOR THE FIRST PILOT. TEMPERATURES NEAR FREEZING, LOW CEILINGS AND LOW VISIBILITY IN PRECIPITATION EXISTED OVER THE AREA. THE FIRST PILOT FILED AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN FOR A 30 MINUTE, LOCAL FLIGHT. AIRBORNE, FLIGHT TWICE AMENDED ITS CRUISE ALTITUDE, ITS DESTINATION TWICE AND ARRIVED BACK AT ORIGIN FOR APPROACH. THE PILOT REPORTED HAVING 'QUITE A BIT OF ICE' BEFORE CLEARANCE FOR HIS APPROACH. THE AIRCRAFT, CONFIGURED TO LAND, FLEW INTO TREES UPRIGHT, IN A SHALLOW DESCENT WHILE CIRCLING FROM THE APPROACH COURSE TO THE OPPOSITE RUNWAY. ENGINE CONTROLS WERE FULL FORWARD AND POWER WAS EVIDENT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_CHI91FA126.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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