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MKC89LA049

1989-01-08 · CHADRON, Nebraska, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CDR

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PLT FAILED TO DEVOTE FULL TIME & ATTENTION TO FLYING THE ACFT, WITH A RESULTING LOSS OF CONTROL AND COLLISION WITH THE GROUND. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE DARK NIGHT CONDITIONS.

Factual narrative

SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF ON A DARK NIGHT, THE PVT PILOT SAID HE TURNED AROUND TO RETRIEVE SOMETHING FROM THE BACK SEAT. HE BECAME AWARE OF THE ENGINE'S RPM INCREASING, AND WHEN HE TURNED AROUND FACING FORWARD, HE COULD NOT SEE THE HORIZON. HE STARTED TO SCAN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WHEN THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE TERRAIN, LEFT WING FIRST. THE WING FOLDED UNDER THE FUSELAGE AND THE AIRCRAFT SLID ABOUT 120 FEET. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_MKC89LA049.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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