Beech E18S accident near Chicago, Illinois, September 29, 1986
On September 29, 1986 at about 3:54 am local time, a Beech E18S, registered N101VE, was destroyed in an accident near Chicago, Illinois (Midway airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. 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
- September 29, 1986 · about 3:54 am local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · Midway · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech E18S · all E18Ss on the register
- Registration
- N101VE · no longer on the register · serial BA109
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT HAD DEPARTED ON RNWY 13. HE WAS THEN DIRECTED TO CLIMB TO 6000 FT. THIRTY SECONDS LATER HE ADVISED HE HAD ENG TROUBLE AND WAS RETURNING TO THE ARPT. SHORTLY THEREAFTER HE ADVISED HE COULD NOT MAINTAIN ALT. THE ACFT, ONE MILE SE OF THE ARPT, STRUCK THE ROOFS OF TWO FAMILY TYPE RESIDENCES. THEN STRUCK TWO GARAGES, GROUND IMPACTED AND STRUCK THE REAR AREA OF A THIRD RESIDENCE. AN INTENSE FIRE FOLLOWED. LEFT ENG HAD IMPELLER FAILURE. PROP WAS PITCHED BETWEEN LOW AND HIGH RPM.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,400 hours in all; 2,059 in this make and model; 275 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 5,505 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 17,743 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, September 1, 1986; 36 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W 985-AN14B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: MDW Chicago IL at 3:50 am
- Destination: CVG Covington KY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 160° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:05 am from MDW, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.