- Date
- February 25, 1987, 21:05 local (Feb 26, 1987, 03:05 UTC)
- Place
- Lake Station, IN
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N99QEBeech C-35
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report July 5, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870225003419A
- Case key
- 13736
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The aircraft struck a guard rail during an emergency landing on interstate 80 after experiencing fuel exhaustion. The pilot had visually inspected his fuel supply prior to the first leg of the flight and thought there was enough fuel for the trip. Inspection of the aircraft after the accident by both FAA and Indiana state police personnel revealed the fuel tanks empty and no signs of fuel leakage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N99QE
- Reported as
- Beech C-35
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D-2985
- Airframe hours
- 3,555
- Engine
- Continental E-185-11, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Terry L. Downs
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 22, 1987 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- PTK · Pontiac, MI
- Destination
- CGX · Chicago, IL
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 31
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 628 total · 368 in this make and model · 561 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 100° at 16 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 15,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GYY, 5 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N99QE · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.