- Date
- May 15, 1990, 22:50 local (May 16, 1990, 03:50 UTC)
- Place
- Dubuque, IA
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N111AYPiper PA-31-350
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report September 15, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900515015799A
- Case key
- 34980
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
Weather evaluation misjudged resulting in uncontrolled descent by the pilot in command and aircraft control not maintained by the pilot in command.
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
While on final, during a full ILS approach, the atr rated plt said that he encountered heavy rain, extreme turbulence, and a possible wind shear at about 600 feet AGL. He said that he lost the localizer, started a missed approach with full power and a pitch up attitude, but the aircraft continued its descent and collided with the terrain about 1/2 mile short of the runway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N111AY
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31-350
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31-8052125
- Airframe hours
- 3,948
- Engine
- Lycoming TSIO-540-J2BD, 350 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- A.Y. Mcdonald Co.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 19, 1989 · 179 hours before
- Departed
- DSM · Des Moines, IA
- Destination
- DBQ
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- DBQ · Dubuque, runway 31, 6,498 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 50
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 10,200 total · 1,583 in this make and model · 7,673 as pilot in command · 64 in the last 90 days · 34 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 330° at 20 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 300 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DBQ, 1 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.