Amateur-built SD3-60 incident near Chicago, Illinois, February 19, 1990
On February 19, 1990 at about 9:30 pm local time, a amateur-built SD3-60, registered N361MQ, suffered minor damage in an incident near Chicago, Illinois (Chicago O'Hare airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 16 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FATIGUE FAILURE OF A FIRST STAGE POWER TURBINE BLADE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 19, 1990 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · Chicago O'Hare
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 16 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SD3-60
- Registration
- N361MQ · no longer on the register · serial SH3607
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT WAS ON FINAL FOR LANDING AT O'HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. OVER THE LANDING THRESHOLD THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE HEARD A SERIES OF SMALL POPS AND A LOUD POP FROM THE NUMBER 1 ENGINE FOLLOWED BY A TORQUE DECAY. THE ENGINE WAS FEATHERED ON TOUCHDOWN. THE INVESTIGATION REVEALED A FATIGUE FAILURE OF A TURBINE BLADE IN THE FIRST STAGE POWER TURBINE.
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
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 27, 1988; 2,267 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 26,000 lb
- Seats: 22
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-65AR (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CMI Champaign IL at 8:16 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 10,141 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:50 pm from ORD
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 13 |
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.