Piper PA-23-150 accident near Romeoville, Illinois, March 8, 1992
On March 8, 1992 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-23-150, registered N242CF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Romeoville, Illinois. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT SELECTED UNSUITABLE TERRAIN TO MAKE A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING WHEN HE DID NOT RECEIVE A SAFE INDICATION THAT THE LANDING GEAR WAS DOWN AND LOCKED. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS INABILITY OF THE PILOT TO RESTART THE LEFT ENGINE AFTER INTENTIONALLY SHUTTING IT DOWN TO SIMMULATE AN EMERGENCY.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 8, 1992 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Romeoville, Illinois · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-23-150 · all PA-23-150s on the register
- Registration
- N242CF · registry record · serial 23-462
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING A MULTI-ENGINE TRAINING FLIGHT, THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT SAID HE SHUTDOWN THE LEFT ENGINE. AN ENGINE RESTART WAS UNSUCCESSFUL AND AN EMERGENCY LDG WAS INITIATED. EMERGENCY GEAR EXTENSION PROCEDURES WERE ATTEMPTED; HOWEVER, GEAR DOWN AND LOCKED INDICATIONS WERE NOT SEEN BY THE PILOT AND HE DECIDED TO LAND IN A PLOWED FIELD. ON THIS MODEL OF ACFT, THERE IS ONLY ONE HYDRAULIC PUMP WHICH IS ON THE LEFT ENGINE. THE NORMAL GEAR RETRACTION/EXTENSION IS HYDRAULICALLY OPERATED.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,031 hours in all; 263 in the last 90 days; 82 in the last 30 days; 1,964 as pilot in command; 1,385 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 15, 1992; 70 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Flying "C" Leasing
The flight
- Departed from: ARR Aurora IL at 8:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,800 ft; not recorded at 2,800 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:45 pm from ARR, 20 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.
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 CHI92LA105.