Learjet 60 accident near Wheeling, Illinois, October 22, 2020
On October 22, 2020 at about 3:55 am local time, a 2001 Learjet 60, registered N1128M, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Wheeling, Illinois (Chicago Executive Airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 8 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight crew's misidentification of the landing runway, which resulted in a runway overrun and the airplane’s impact with the airport perimeter fence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 22, 2020 · about 3:55 am local time · cases in 2020
- Place
- Wheeling, Illinois · Chicago Executive Airport · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 8 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Learjet 60, built 2001 · all 60s on the register
- Registration
- N1128M · registry record · serial 222
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight crew of the nonscheduled air taxi airplane inadvertently landed on runway 30 instead of runway 34 at Chicago Executive Airport, Wheeling, Illinois. Before departure, the captain conducted a time-of-arrival landing distance assessment and calculated a factored landing distance of 4,790 ft. The landing distance available on runway 34 was 5,001 ft. During the visual approach to the airport, the flight crew misidentified runway 30 as runway 34; visually aligned with runway 30, which had an available landing distance of 3,983 ft; and used the runway 30 PAPI lights to provide vertical guidance to the runway. Sufficient landing distance was not available on runway 30, and the captain steered the airplane to the left after realizing that it would not be able to stop before the end of the runway surface. The airplane subsequently overran the runway and came to rest by the airport perimeter fence, causing substantial damage to the right wing. The flight crew did not recognize its runway alignment error until after landing.
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
What happened, in order
- Runway excursion during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Flight crew
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action performance › Flight crew
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 20,863 hours in all; 1,359 in this make and model; 119 in the last 90 days; 14,939 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 13, 2020
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,530 hours in all; 470 in this make and model; 114 in the last 90 days; 2,788 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: November 26, 2019
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: unk
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: unk
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: unk
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: unk
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: unk
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: unk
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,986.9 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, July 24, 2020
- Maximum gross weight: 23,500 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: P&W Canada 305A (turbofan); 2,585 hours total
- Engine 2: P&W Canada 305A (turbofan); 8,257 hours total
- Operator: Worldwide Jet Charter Inc
The flight
- Departed from: KCGF Cleveland OH at 2:58 am
- Destination: KPWK Wheeling IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 30, 4,415 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 080° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 4,500 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 16.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:52 am from KPWK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
Photographs from the investigation 7 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photograph 1. Aircraft in final resting position (left side aircraft) Photograph 2. Aircraft in final resting position (right side aircraft)
Photograph 3. Closeup image of right wing damage and fence pole
Photograph 4. Closeup image of right wing damage and fence pole
Photograph 5. Daytime image of right leading-edge damage Photograph 6. Daytime image of right leading edge and bottom wing skin damage
Photograph 7. Interior damage to right leading edge Photograph 8. Interior damage to right leading edge
Photograph 9. Right wing spar WS213 damage
Photograph 10. Right wing bottom skin damageThe NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
8 documents, released by the NTSB on July 6, 2021. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Meteorology Specialist's Factual Report | PDF, 6 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Flight Dispatch Release | PDF, 27 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Aircraft Damage Photographs | PDF, 7 pages · our copy | View Download |
| 5 | Flight Crew Interview Transcripts | PDF, 115 pages | View Download |
| 6 | Flight Crew Statements | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 7 | Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 8 | Cockpit Voice Recorder Specialist's Factual Report | PDF, 28 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N1128M on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Learjet 60 238 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Engine: P&W Canada 305A 5 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Engine: P&W Canada 305A 5 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Chicago Executive · nearest airport
- Cuyahoga County · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Illinois 2,118 since 1982 · 251 in the last ten years
- Illinois 8,070 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/DCA21LA011.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.