# Accident 19960508009579A: Cessna 340A, Chicago/Waukega, IL, May 8, 1996

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 8, 1996, 05:15 local time
- Place: Chicago/Waukega, IL
- Airport: Waukegan Regional Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.3999° N, 87.8505° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.3999&lon=-87.8505&mi=10
- Aircraft: N225BA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N225BA-2017-07-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 340A (registry code 2076405, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-340a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental TSIO-520 series (registry code 17040, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 340A
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 21,925 total, 822 in this make and model, 34 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI96FA152](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI96FA152) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960508009579A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

LOST SIGHT RUNWAY LIGHTS ON FINAL. IMPACTED SHORT OF RUNWAY. ACTIVATED LIGHTS TOO SOON. LIGHTS TIMED TO SHUT OFF. (-23) ON MAY 8, 1996, AT 0515 CDT, A CESSNA 340A, PILOTED BY AN AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND DURING AN ILS APPROACH. THE CFR PART 91 FLIGHT WAS OPERATING ON AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN. THE PILOT WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED. THE PIC STATED HE HAD ACTIVATED THE PILOT-CONTROLLED RUNWAY LIGHTS APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES PRIOR TO IMPACT WHILE BEING VECTORED FOR THE APPROACH. HE TURNED OFF THE AIRCRAFT'S LANDING LIGHTS TO AVOID GLARE IN THE COCKPIT. HE HAD VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE RUNWAY PRIOR TO INTERCEPTING THE GLIDESLOPE, AND CONTINUED THE APPROACH VISUALLY. NEARING THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD, HE TURNED THE AIRCRAFT'S LANDING LIGHTS ON. THE RUNWAY LIGHTS 'FADED' OUT, AND THE PIC THEN TURNED HIS LANDING LIGHTS OFF, SAW NOTHING, AND STRUCK THE GROUND APPROXIMATELY 1000 FEET FROM THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD. POST CRASH INVESTIGATION REVEALED NO MALFUNCTION OF THE PILOT-CONTROLLED LIGHTING SYSTEM, THE AIRCRAFT, NOR ITS SYSTEMS.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI96FA152](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI96FA152), May 8, 1996: Cessna 340A (N225BA), Waukegan, IL, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's inability to maintain visual contact with the runway environment due to 'flash blindness' when he turned on the airplane's landing light, and his subsequent inability to regain control of…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.