Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32 incident near Chicago, Illinois, July 9, 1989
On July 9, 1989 at about 8:30 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32, registered N939ML, was involved in an incident near Chicago, Illinois. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 84 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
POOR LOOKOUT BY THE CREW OF THE DC-9 AND THE CESSNA PILOT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 9, 1989 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 84 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32 · all DC-9-32s on the register
- Registration
- N939ML · registry record · serial 45710
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- NEAR COLLISION BETWEEN AIRCRAFT during descent - normal
Pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land, none, APLN, none
- Medical certificate: none
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 109,000 lb
- Seats: 116
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operating certificate: in the vicinity
The flight
- Departed from: DCA Washington DC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 95°C, dew point 70°C
- Altimeter: 29 inHg
- Observation at 8:00 pm from ORD, 40 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 | |||
| Passengers | 79 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI89IA143.