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MKC89LA127

1989-06-06 · PINE BLUFF, Arkansas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport PBF

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

IMPROPER IN-FLIGHT PLANNING/DECISION BY THE PILOT BY CONTINUING THE APPROACH WHEN THE RUNWAY LIGHTS DID NOT ACTIVATE. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE: DARK NIGHT AND SOFT TERRAIN.

Factual narrative

THE PLT SAID THAT DURING AN ILS RWY 17 ARRIVAL AT NIGHT, HE WAS UNABLE TO ACTIVATE THE RUNWAY LIGHTS BY KEYING HIS RADIO. ALSO, HE NOTED THAT THE ROTATING BEACON WAS NOT OPERATING. HE STATED THAT HIS INSTRUMENTS SHOWED THE ACFT WAS ON THE CENTERLINE OF THE LOCALIZER, SO HE CONTINUED THE ILS APCH. HOWEVER, THE LANDING OCCURRED ABOUT 50 TO 75 FT LEFT OF THE RUNWAY ON SOFT TERRAIN WHICH RESULTED IN A NOSE OVER. THE ARPT WAS IN VFR CONDITIONS. ABOUT 1 HR AFTER THE ACCIDENT, THE ARPT MANAGER CHECKED THE RADIO ACTIVATED RUNWAY LIGHTS AND FOUND THEM TO WORK PROPERLY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_MKC89LA127.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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