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CHI91LA074

1991-01-19 · CABOOL, Missouri, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport TVB

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN PROPER RUNWAY ALIGNMENT DURING A GO-AROUND. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARKNESS AND THE PILOT'S LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF THE LANDING GEAR ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT SAID THAT AFTER CIRCLING THE AIRPORT, TO DETERMINE RUNWAY USE ON A DARK NIGHT, HE LOWERED THE GEAR AND PREPARED TO LAND. HE NOTICED ON FINAL APPROACH, THE LANDING GEAR INDICATOR LIGHTS WERE NOT ILLUMINATED PROPERLY AND ATTEMPTED TO DETERMINE IF THE GEAR WAS IN THE SAFE POSITION. HE SAW THE LIGHTED WIND TEE GO BY, ABOUT MID-FIELD, DURING FINAL APPROACH AND DECIDED THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT RUNWAY TO LAND SO ELECTED TO MAKE A GO AROUND. HE SAID THAT HE MUST HAVE INADVERTENTLY SHUT THE PANEL LIGHTS OFF, WHICH AUTOMATICALLY BRIGHTENS UP THE GEAR POSITION LIGHTS. HE ATTEMPTED TO REACH A FLASHLIGHT IN THE COCKPIT, BUT UNKNOWINGLY BANKED THE AIRCRAFT TO THE RIGHT OF THE RUNWAY, COLLIDED WITH SOME TREES, THEN COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN. THIS TYPE OF AIRCRAFT WAS DESIGNED TO AUTOMATICALLY DIM THE GEAR POSITION LIGHTS WHEN THE PANEL LIGHTS WERE ACTIVATED, TO REDUCE COCKPIT GLARE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_CHI91LA074.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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