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CHI92LA284

1992-09-20 · JOPLIN, Missouri, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport JLN

N9234U has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (FREEFLY SYSTEMS ALTA X), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

POOR PREFLIGHT PLANNING AND PREPARATION ALONG WITH THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO ASSURE AN ADEQUATE FUEL SUPPLY TO COMPLETE THE FLIGHT. A FACTOR RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE DOWNDRAFT ENCOUNTERED.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT DEPARTED FOR THE 30 MINUTE FLIGHT WITH 8 GALLONS OF FUEL. ON SHORT FINAL AT HIS DESTINATION, A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER WAS EXPERIENCED. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT A DOWNDRAFT FORCED THE AIRPLANE INTO TREES WHILE HE WAS ATTEMPTING TO MAKE IT TO THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT AND PASSENGER EVACUATED THE AIRPLANE AFTER WHICH TIME IT DESCENDED TO THE GROUND. POST ACCIDENT INSPECTION REVEALED 2 3/4 GALLONS OF FUEL REMAINING IN THE AIRPLANE. UNUSABLE FUEL LOAD FOR THE AIRPLANE IS 3 1/2 GALLONS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1992_CHI92LA284.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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