British Aerospace 146-200 incident near Chicago, Illinois, January 18, 1991
On January 18, 1991 at about 6:40 pm local time, a British Aerospace 146-200, registered N608AW, suffered minor damage in an incident near Chicago, Illinois (O'Hare Field). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 39 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
COMPANY PROCEDURES AND DIRECTIVES NOT BEING FOLLOWED BY GROUND PERSONNEL. A FACTOR ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACCIDENT IS COMPLACENCY BY COMPANY/OPERATOR MANAGEMENT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 18, 1991 · about 6:40 pm local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · O'Hare Field
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 39 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- British Aerospace 146-200
- Registration
- N608AW · no longer on the register · serial E-2049
- 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 INCIDENT TRANSPORT AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH ANOTHER PARKED TRANSPORT AIRPLANE WHILE TAXIING AWAY FROM A GATE AT THE START OF A REVENUE FLIGHT. BOTH AIRPLANES SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE. THE PILOT STOPPED THE AIRPLANE AND SHUT IT DOWN. THE PASSENGERS AND CREW DEPLANED USING THE NORMAL CABIN EXITS. THE INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT SIGNALMEN AND WINGWALKERS WERE ROUTINELY GROUND GUIDING AIRCRAFT AT THAT PARKING LOCATION TO A PARKING SPOT THAT WAS DISPLACED TO THE LEFT OF THE PAINTED TAXI GUIDE STRIPES. THIS PRACTICE ALLOWES THE TAIL OF A DEPARTING AIRPLANE TO TRANSCRIBE AN ARC WHICH PASSES THROUGH AN ADJACENT DEDICATED PARKING SPACE AS IT TURNES AWAY FROM THE GATE. WHEN THIS SPACE IS OCCUPIED BY A LONGER AIRPLANE THERE IS INSUFFICIENT CLEARANCE TO ALLOW THE TAIL SURFACES OF THE TWO AIRCRAFT TO CLEAR EACH OTHER. ACCORDING TO RAMP PERSONNEL AN EMERGENCY STOP HAND SIGNAL WAS ISSUED BY THE WINGWALKER BUT WAS NOT RECOGNIZED IN TIME TO STOP THE INCIDENT.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 22,500 hours in all; 4,800 in this make and model; 225 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 21,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 89,500 lb
- Seats: 106
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming ALF 502 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air Wisconsin
The flight
- Destination: GRB Green Bay WI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 35 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N608AW the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 CHI91IA073.