CHI95LA343

The pilot obtained two weather briefings but did not file a flight plan. The airplane departed Waukegan at approximately 1741 CST. The airplane never arrived at its intended destination. Witnesses reported seeing a low flying airplane resembling N23990 south of the departure airport at about 1745. They stated the weather at the time was low ceilings with heavy snow. Weather radar information confirms precipitation in the area at the time. Several pieces, identified as being from the airplane, have washed ashore from lake Michigan. The pilot's body was found 6/22/95 along the shoreline.

On March 31, 1995, about 1741 central standard time (cst), a Beech C23, N23990, registered to, and flown by a private pilot departed the Waukegan Municipal Airport, Waukegan, Illinois, with an intended destination of Valparaiso, Indiana. The airplane never arrived at its intended destination.

Units of the Civil Air Patrol, Coast Guard, and Chicago Police Department Marine Unit searched for the airplane for three days without success. The airplane is missing and presumed destroyed. The pilot was fatally injured.

The pilot obtained two weather briefings but did not file a flight plan. The only contact with air traffic control was a takeoff clearance which was issued at 1741 (cst) by the Waukegan Air Traffic Control Tower. Three witnesses reported seeing an airplane resembling the missing airplane near the Lake Bluff/Libertyville, Illinois, about 1745. They described the weather conditions as a low overcast with moderate to heavy snow showers. Weather radar images confirm the presence of precipitation in the area at the time. (See attached weather data)

On May 5, 1995, several pieces of metal were located along the Lake Bluff, Illinois, shoreline. The co-owner of the airplane identified one piece, approximately 6' x 1.5' with yellow, white and brown markings, as a section from the right wing of the missing airplane.

On June 22, 1995, the pilot's body was located along the shoreline in Lake Forest, Illinois. Lake Forest is approximately 10 miles south of the Waukegan Municipal Airport. An autopsy was performed by the Lake County Coroner's Office, Lake County, Illinois, on June 22, 1995.

On November 22, 1995, another piece of metal was located by the Lake Forest Police Department. This piece of metal was transported to the NTSB North Central Regional Office. The piece of wreckage is 33" x 10" and is yellow, white, and brown in color. (See attached sketch) According to Beech representatives, the wreckage as described appears to be a section of the underside of the right wing.