Cessna T210N accident near Bedford Park, Illinois, January 5, 1988
On January 5, 1988 at about 5:03 am local time, a Cessna T210N, registered N4746C, was destroyed in an accident near Bedford Park, Illinois (Chicago 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
- January 5, 1988 · about 5:03 am local time
- Place
- Bedford Park, Illinois · Chicago Midway · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T210N · all T210Ns on the register
- Registration
- N4746C · no longer on the register · serial 21063610
- 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
DRG AN ARRIVAL TO CHICAGO MIDWAY ARPT ON A COLD NIGHT, THE PLT RPRTD HE WAS HAVING TROUBLE WITH A STICKY THROTTLE. SUBSEQUENTLY, HE MADE AN EMERGENCY TRANSMISSION & SAID HE WAS 'GOING IN.' WITNESSES SAW THE ACFT IN A DESCENT BEFORE IT CRASHED. ONE WITNESS SAID THE ACFT WAS AT ABOUT 200' AGL WHEN IT PASSED OVER HIS POSITION & THAT HE COULD NOT HEAR ANY ENG NOISE. ANOTHER WITNESS SAID THE ACFT CAME IN AS IF TO LAND. SUBSEQUENTLY, IT CRASHED INTO A WAREHOUSE WHILE IN A WINGS LEVEL ATTITUDE. A TEARDOWN OF THE ENG WAS MADE, BUT NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND. A PLT, WHO FLEW THE ACFT ON THE MORNING OF THE ACDNT RPRTD THAT THE THROTTLE SEEMED TO BE STUCK WHEN HE 1ST STARTED THE ENG, BUT ONCE THE ENG WAS WARM, THE THROTTLE FUNCTIONED NORMALLY. HE THEN MADE AN UNEVENTFUL FLT. TEMP AT THE TIME OF THE ACDNT WAS RPRTD TO BE MINUS 8 DEG FAHRENHEIT.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,800 hours in all; 370 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 1,700 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,255 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, December 26, 1987; 46 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,812 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-R (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MLI Moline IL at 4:00 am
- Destination: MDW Chicago IL
- Flight plan: VFR then IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 280° at 20 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 9°F (-13°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:10 am from MDW, 3 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.