Amateur-built PIERSON PUSHER accident near Kankakee, Illinois, September 30, 1990
On September 30, 1990 at about 7:20 pm local time, a amateur-built PIERSON PUSHER, registered N75FM, was destroyed in an accident near Kankakee, Illinois (Kankakee airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DUE TO ACTIVATION OF CARBURETOR CHOKE AND AN INADVERTENT STALL DURING THE FORCED LANDING.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 30, 1990 · about 7:20 pm local time
- Place
- Kankakee, Illinois · Kankakee · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built PIERSON PUSHER PIERSON PU
- Registration
- N75FM · no longer on the register · serial 1
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A HOMEBUILT AIRPLANE ON TAKEOFF CLIMBOUT WAS OBSERVED WITH MAIN GEAR RETRACTED AND NOSE GEAR EXTENDED. WITNESSES RECOUNT THE ENGINE SPUTTERING, FOLLOWED BY A STALL AND A UNCONTROLLED DESCENT TO GROUND. THE CARBURETOR CHOKE PLATE WAS FOUND CLOSED. THE PILOT HAD INSTALLED A POSITIVE DOWNLOCK ON THE NOSEGEAR TO PREVENT RETRACTION UNLESS A PULL-TO-RELEASE HANDLE IN THE COCKPIT WERE USED. THE HANDLE TO ENABLE NOSEGEAR RETRACTION RESEMBLED THE CHOKE HANDLE.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,546 hours in all; 28 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 28 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ford 3.8 V6 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 4, 5,985 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 6 knots
- Sky: overcast at 700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:45 pm from IKK, 1 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.