Nihon YS-11A-600 accident near West Lafayette, Indiana, March 15, 1989
On March 15, 1989 at about 12:26 pm local time, a Nihon YS-11A-600, registered N128MP, was destroyed in an accident near West Lafayette, Indiana (Purdue University Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A LOSS OF CONTROL DUE TO THE IMPROPER INFLIGHT DECISIONS BY THE CREW AND THE UNDETECTED ACCUMULATION OF ICE ON THE LEADING EDGE OF THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER, DURING FLIGHT IN A FORWARD CENTER OF GRAVITY CONDITION AND EXACERBATED BY THE EXTENSION OF FULL LANDING FLAPS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 15, 1989 · about 12:26 pm local time
- Place
- West Lafayette, Indiana · Purdue University Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Nihon YS-11A-600
- Registration
- N128MP · no longer on the register · serial 2139
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AN IFR FLIGHT WAS TERMINATED WITH A VISUAL APPROACH. CONDITIONS WERE CONDUCIVE TO AIRFRAME ICING. THE AIRCRAFT WAS BEING POSITIONED EMPTY, WITH A CG AT 22.1% MAC. ON SHORT FINAL, AT APPROXIMATELY 400 FT AGL, 35 DEGREES OF LANDING FLAP WAS SELECTED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED TO PITCH DOWNWARD TO AN UNUSUAL ATTITUDE AND TO ENTER A STEEP DESCENT. A PARTIAL RECOVERY WAS OBSERVED BEFORE THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED A DIRT HILL 500 FT SHORT OF RWY 28. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRFRAME AFTER THE ACCIDENT REVEALED 1/2 TO 3/4 INCH OF RIME ICE ADHERING TO THE LEADING EDGE OF THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER. NO ICE WAS FOUND ON ANY OTHER PORTION OF THE AIRFRAME. EVIDENCE IN THE COCKPIT INDICATED THAT ENGINE, PITOT, AND WINDSHIELD ANTI-ICE SYSTEMS WERE ON, BUT WING/EMPENNAGE DEICE WAS OFF. NO EVIDENCE OF A POWERPLANT OR SYSTEMS MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,294 hours in all; 2,097 in this make and model; 61 in the last 90 days; 21 in the last 30 days; 6,294 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 24,088 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, February 25, 1989; 29 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 55,110 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce DART 542-10J (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Mid Pacific Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: HUF Terre Haute IN at 12:00 pm
- Destination: LAF West Lafayette IN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 28, 6,600 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 280° at 16 knots, gusting 23
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:28 pm from LAF, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.