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CHI91LA106

1991-03-12 · OGALLALA, Nebraska, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport OGA

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

IMPROPER PLANNING/DECISION BY THE PILOT AND THE LACK OF SUFFICIENT AIRSPEED TO MANEUVER (CIRCLE TO LAND) IN UNFAVORABLE WIND CONDITIONS WITH STRUCTURAL ICE ON THE AIRCRAFT. THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND STRUCTURAL (WING) ICE WERE RELATED FACTORS.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT PERFORMED AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH TO RUNWAY 26 AT THE DESTINATION AIRPORT DURING A HEAVY SNOWSTORM WITH THE WIND FROM 320 DEG AT 40 GUSTING 60 KTS. AFTER CONSIDERING HIS ALTITUDE ABOVE THE RUNWAY AND THE WINDS, THE PILOT ELECTED TO CIRCLE AND LAND ON RUNWAY 31. HE STATED THAT AS HE BEGAN HIS LEFT TURN, HE LOST CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE. HE REPORTED THAT IN SPITE OF HIS ATTEMPTS TO REGAIN CONTROL, THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED AND IMPACTED THE GROUND. THE PILOT STATED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS ICING UP QUICKLY DURING THE APPROACH. THERE WAS NO CLAIM OR EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION. STRONG, GUSTY SURFACE WINDS HAD BEEN PREDICTED FOR THE AREA, AND THE PILOT HAD OBTAINED SEVERAL PREFLIGHT WEATHER BRIEFINGS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_CHI91LA106.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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