Dornier 228-201 accident near Chicago, Illinois, June 5, 1988
On June 5, 1988 at about 4:40 pm local time, a Dornier 228-201, registered N259MC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chicago, Illinois (Midway 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 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
- June 5, 1988 · about 4:40 pm local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · Midway · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Dornier 228-201
- Registration
- N259MC · no longer on the register · serial 8118
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE CAPT WAS COMPLETING THE CHECKLIST DRG PAX LOADING & THE F/O SECURED THE DOOR & CAME FWD. THE CAPT STARTED THE #2 ENG& BGN SINGLE ENG TAXI WHILE ATMTG A RGT TURN TO STAY CLR OF A PARKED DORNIER (N264MC). AS N259MC BGN ROLLING FWD, THE CAPT NOTED THE NOSEWHEEL STEERING (NWS) WAS INOP. HE APPLIED NORMAL BRAKING, BUT GOT NO RESPONSE & N259MC BGN A LEFT TURN. THE CAPT SWITCHED THE HYDR PUMP FM 'NORMAL' TO 'MAN ON' (MANUAL); HOWEVER, BFR HYD PRES WAS BUILT UP BY BATTERY PWR, N259MC COLLIDED WITH N264MC. AN INV REVEALED THE #2 GENERATOR (GEN) WAS NOT CONNECTED TO THE GEN BUS. NO PART MALFUNCTION/FAILURE WAS FND DRG CHECKS OF THE ACFT SYSTEMS. THE NWS & NORMAL BRAKES WERE ELECTRO-HYDRAULICALLY ACTUATED.W/O GENERATOR PWR, THE HYD SYS, NWS & NORMAL BRAKES WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN OPERATING WITH THE HYD SW IN THE 'NORMAL' PSN. AN EMERG (PARKING) BRAKE WAS AVAILABLE, BUT IT WAS NOT USED. THE TRAINING PROGRAM, OPN MANUAL & DORNIER 228-SERIES PILOT OPERATING HANDBOOK DID NOT ADDRESS SINGLE-ENG GROUND OPN OR THE EFFECTS OF AN INTERRUPTION IN GENERATOR PWR.
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: 4,300 hours in all; 300 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 2,800 as pilot in command; 1,120 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,007 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 22, 1988; 81 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 19
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE-331-5 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MDW
- Destination: SPI Springfield IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:40 pm from MDW, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 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.