Grumman AA-5B accident near Schaumburg, Illinois, September 2, 1988
On September 2, 1988 at about 3:00 am local time, a Grumman AA-5B, registered N28774, was substantially damaged in an accident near Schaumburg, Illinois (Schaumburg airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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
- September 2, 1988 · about 3:00 am local time
- Place
- Schaumburg, Illinois · Schaumburg · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Grumman AA-5B
- Registration
- N28774 · no longer on the register · serial AA5B-0727
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING AN ATTEMPTED NIGHT LANDING AT AN AIRPORT WITH INOPERATIVE PILOT-CONTROLLED RUNWAY LIGHTS, THE PILOT MADE A SERIES OF LOW PASSES (APPROXIMATELY 6 PASSES) BEFORE TRYING TO LAND. THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH THE TOP OF A TREE LOCATED SLIGHTLY TO THE LEFT OF THE EXTENDED RUNWAY CENTERLINE. THE AIRCRAFT ENTERED AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT INTO BRUSHY TERRAIN. THE INOPERATIVE RUNWAY LIGHTS WERE PROPERLY NOTAMED AND THE PILOT HAD RECEIVED A PREFLIGHT BRIEFING.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,134 hours in all; 912 in this make and model; 67 in the last 90 days; 49 in the last 30 days; 1,011 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,543 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 15, 1988; 34 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4K (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MKE Milwaukee WI at 1:45 am
- Destination: 06C Schaumburg IL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 3,000 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 140° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 am from DPA, 8 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.