19890428048479I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Doug DC9* · Indianapolis, IN · April 28, 1989

Date
April 28, 1989 · 09:45 local
Place
Indianapolis, IN
Airport
Indianapolis International
Phase of flight
Descent
Operating rules
Air carrier (Part 121)
Operator
DALA
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N1262L
Reported as
Doug DC9*
People aboard
48
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
15,000 total1,400 in this make and model171 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Struck by lightning on descent to airport. Lightning struck left side of aircraft and exited right wing tip.

As the FAA filed it

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING ON DESCENT TO AIRPORT. LIGHTNING STRUCK LEFT SIDE OF AIRCRAFT AND EXITED RIGHT WING TIP.