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CHI94LA029

1993-10-26 · ONAGA, Kansas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 52K

Current FAA registration · N92881

Make / Model
CESSNA 182N
Year of manufacture
1970 · 23 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR O-470 SERIES (230 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19700714
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S ACDF6C

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

the pilot-in-command's poor pre-flight planning and failure to maintain runway alignment. Factors were the dark light conditions and the lack of runway lights.

Factual narrative

On October 26, 1993, at 0630 central daylight time, a Cessna 182N, N92881, registered to Kansas State Flying Club of Manhattan, Kansas, and operated by a private pilot, collided with a dirt berm on the edge of runway 36, at the Grutzmacher Municipal Airport, Onaga, Kansas. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The pilot and one passenger reported no injuries. The business 14 CFR Part 91 flight was being conducted in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was on file. The flight departed Manhattan, Kansas, about 0600. The pilot indicated that he attempted to land at the uncontrolled and unlighted airport during hours of darkness. He said he had done this successfully in the past with the aid of lights from a car. He stated that this time he landed to the left of the runway and struck the lip of dirt where a dozer had been working. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE HAD LANDED AT THIS UNCONTROLLED AND UNLIGHTED AIRPORT ON OTHER OCCASSIONS AT NIGHT WITH THE USE OF CAR LIGHTS. ON THIS LANDING THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY AND STRUCK A DIRT BERM. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1993_CHI94LA029.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.