Cessna 172P accident near Logansport, Indiana, July 11, 1989
On July 11, 1989 at about 10:33 pm local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N64087, was substantially damaged in an accident near Logansport, Indiana. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
POOR JUDGEMENT OF THE PILOT DUE TO PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT FROM CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL, HIS INADVERTENT FLIGHT INTO KNOWN ADVERSE WEATHER, AND HIS INADEQUATE CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT DURING A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE: THE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND THE PILOT BECOMING SPATIALLY DISORIENTED.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 11, 1989 · about 10:33 pm local time
- Place
- Logansport, Indiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N64087 · registry record · serial 17275519
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT REPORTED THAT HE ENCOUNTERED MARGINAL WX WITH THUNDERSTORMS (TSTMS) & DIVERTED TO PERU, INDIANA; HOWEVER, THUNDERSTORMS WERE THERE AS WELL. HE CONTACTED GRISSOM APCH CONTROL. AFTER SOME DIFFICULTY WITH RADIO RECEPTION, HE OBTAINED VECTORS TO DIVERT TO LOGANSPORT, INDIANA, BUT BY THAT TIME, HE WAS SURROUNDED BY TSTMS. AT AN ALT OF 2500', HE ENCTRD HVY RAIN WITH NO FWD VIS. HE RPRTD THAT HE FLEW INTO A TSTM & ENCTRD SEVERE TURBC. HE STATED THAT 'THE GYROS TUMBLED,' & HE THOUGHT THE ACFT WAS SPINNING, THEN THE ACFT EXITED THE STORM INVERTED, AT AN ALT OF ABOUT 400'. HE RECOVERED FROM THE UNUSUAL ATTITUDE & ELECTED TO LAND. DRG THE LANDING, THE LEFT WING TIP CONTACTED THE GROUND & THE ACFT WAS DAMAGED AS IT SKIDDED TO A STOP. POLICE & MEDICAL PSNL NOTED THE ODOR OF ALCOHOL COMING FROM THE PLT'S BREATH. A SAMPLE OF BLOOD WAS DRAWN FROM THE PLT APRX 3-3/4 HRS AFTER THE ACDNT. A TOXICOLOGY CHECK OF THE SAMPLE SHOWED THE PLT HAD A BLOOD/ALCOHOL LVL OF 0.16%. HE WAS DENIED A MED CERT AFTER HEART SURGERY IN 1975.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all; 4,000 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 4,700 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,410 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 27, 1989; 70 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: D92 Monroe MI at 9:30 pm
- Destination: RCR Logansport IN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:55 pm from GUS, 11 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.