- Date
- January 21, 1989, 09:50 local (15:50 UTC)
- Place
- Chicago, IL
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N16375Piper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 22, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890121000919A
- Case key
- 14277
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Inadequate preflight of the aircraft by the pilot, which resulted in fuel exhaustion due to an inadequate supply of fuel. Factors related to the accident were: high obstructions and retaining wall in the emergency landing area.
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 plt & 2 observer/trainees were on a flt along the lake Michigan shoreline. After aprx 23 min of flt, while apchg to land at Chicago, the plt rprtd an eng problem of unknown origin. He attempted to land in a parking lot at a water filtration plant. After clrg the roof of a bldg, the acft turned & subsequently collided with a retaining wall at the edge of the parking lot. Both observer/trainees were fatally injured. The plt was seriously injured & was unable to recall the events of the flt. The fuel selector was found positioned to the left fuel tank, which remained intact. Less than 1 gal of fuel was estimated to be remaining in the left tank. The acft fuel tanks had a total capacity of 50 gal, of which, 13.5 pints of fuel was considered to be unusable (less than 1 gal per tank). Aprx 3 hrs after the acdnt, no odor of fuel was noted beneath the ruptured rgt fuel tank. No witnesses or records were found to indicate the acft had been refueled before the flt.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N16375
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7305239
- Airframe hours
- 1,260
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Public aircraft · Public use
- Operator
- Michael J. Belica
- Registered owner
- Michael & Jacquiline Belica
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 16, 1988 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- UGN · Waukegan, IL
- Destination
- CGX · Chicago, IL
- Airport
- CGX · Meigs
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
- 49
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,400 total · 1,100 in this make and model · 1,300 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 28 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CGX, 2 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.