Cessna 402B incident near Waukegan, Illinois, April 5, 1982
On April 5, 1982 at about 6:30 pm local time, a Cessna 402B, registered N69341, suffered minor damage in an incident near Waukegan, Illinois (Waukegan Hemorial airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 5, 1982 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Waukegan, Illinois · Waukegan Hemorial · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402B · all 402Bs on the register
- Registration
- N69341 · no longer on the register · serial 402B0449
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
PILOT REPORTED AN OIL LEAK IN THE RIGHT ENGINE TO CONTROLLER WHILE ON AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH TO WAUKEGAN AIRPORT. SEVERAL MINUTES LATER, PILOT REPORTED THAT HE HAD LOST SIGHT OF THE AIRPORT AND DUE TO LOSS OF POWER IN THE RIGHT ENGINE, ELECTED TO LAND IN A PLOWED FIELD. ON LANDING, THE GEAR COLLAPSED. EXAMINATION OF THE RIGHT ENGINE OIL SCAVENGE PUMP REVEALED THAT THE DRIVE GEAR WAS FRACTURED INTO FIVE PIECES. FOUR OF THE FIVE FRACTURES BORE EVIDENCE OF AN OVERLOAD TYPE FAILURE. ONE FRACTURE SURFACE EXAMINED WAS DETERMINED TO HAVE BEEN PRE-EXISTING AN IT BORE EVIDENCE OF A FATIGUE TYPE FAILURE.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,311 hours in all; 748 in this make and model; 114 in the last 90 days; 2,125 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,004 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 23 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Superior Air Service, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: AZO Kalamazoo MI at 11:40 am
- Destination: ATW Appleton WI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 5, 4,600 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 050° at 30 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.