Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Ashton, Illinois 61006
Wednesday, July 11, 1990 2:21 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE FLT ORIGINATED AT 0151 CDT AFTER THE PLT & PSGR HAD SPENT A DAY SIGHTSEEING & ATTENDED A NGT BASEBALL GAME. BEFORE DEPG, THE PLT RCVD A WX BRIEFING & FILED AN IFR FLT PLAN. OVC SKIES WITH CUMULIFORM CLOUDS & RAIN SHOWERS PREVAILED ALONG THE ROUTE. THOUGH THE PLT WAS NOT BRIEFED ABOUT TSTMS, ONLY WIDELY SCATTERED TSTMS WITH MODERATE RAINSHOWERS WERE FORECAST. WHILE EN ROUTE, THE PLT MADE A TRANSMISSION THAT HIS COMPASS WAS 'SWINGING' & THEN CONTACT WITH THE ACFT WAS LOST. SUBSEQUENLTY, AN INFLT BREAKUP OF THE ACFT OCCURRED & WRECKAGE WAS SCATTERED OVER A WIDE AREA. RADAR DATA SHOWED THAT THE AIRPLANE MADE RAPID CHANGES IN ALTITUDE BEFORE BREAKING UP. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE SHOWED THAT BOTH WINGS FAILED IN POSITIVE OVERLOAD. THE STABILATOR FAILED DOWN & WAS BENT AFT BEFORE SEPARATING FROM THE ACFT. THE REST OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS EXTENSIVELY DAMAGED BY IMPACT & FIRE.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A LOSS OF AIRCRAFT CONTROL FOR AN UNKNOWN REASON, WHILE EN ROUTE IN INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC) ON A DARK NIGHT, AND THE PILOT EXCEEDING THE DESIGN STRESS LIMITS OF THE AIRCRAFT WHILE ATTEMPTING TO RECOVER FROM UNCONTROLLED FLIGHT. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: PILOT FATIGUE AND PROBABLE SPATIAL DISORIENTATION OF THE PILOT AND/OR AN INSTRUMENT MALFUNCTION.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/11/1990
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 221
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City ASHTON
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 61006
Event Date Year 1990
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Partial - limited by briefer
Investigator's weather source Witness
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) 0
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 2083
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 11 1990 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 630
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 43462
Date of most recent change to record Dec 18 2002 11:28AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\GIUV
Basic weather conditions Unknown
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N43515
NTSB Number CHI90FA174
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-32R-301T
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-32R-301
Aircraft Serial Number 32R-8429009
Certified Max Gross Weight 3600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection 0
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name
Aircraft Owner Street Address
Aircraft Owner City
Aircraft Owner State
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name EXECUTIVE PROTECTION INC.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address PO BOX 1038
Operator City LASALLE
Operator State CO
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 80645
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code MDW
Departure City CHICAGO
Departure State IL
Departure Country
Departure Time 151
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code LNK
Destination City LINCOLN
Destination State NE
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Descent
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --