Hawker Siddeley HS-748-2A accident near Pinckneyville, Illinois, October 12, 1983
On October 12, 1983 at about 1:53 am local time, a Hawker Siddeley HS-748-2A, registered N748LL, was destroyed in an accident near Pinckneyville, Illinois. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 10 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 12, 1983 · about 1:53 am local time
- Place
- Pinckneyville, Illinois · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 10 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Hawker Siddeley HS-748-2A
- Registration
- N748LL · registry record · serial 1716
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ABOUT 1.5 MIN AFTER DEPARTING SPRINGFIELD, IL, THE FLTCREW REPORTED A SLIGHT ELECTRICAL PROBLEM, BUT THEY CONTINUED ON COURSE. ABOUT 33 MIN LATER & A FEW MIN BEFORE THE ACFT SHOULD HAVE REACHED ITS DESTINATION, THE ACFT CRASHED. IMPACT OCCURRED WHILE THE ACFT WAS DESCENDING IN A RIGHT WING LOW ATTITUDE. BEFORE CRASHING, THE PLANE'S HEADING HAD CHANGED ABOUT 180 DEG. A CVR TRANSCRIPT REVEALED THE L GENERATOR (GEN) HAD FAILED AFTER TAKEOFF & THE 1ST OFFICER HAD MISTAKENLYISOLATED THE R GEN. ATTEMPTS TO RESTORE THE R GEN WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. THE CAPTAIN ELECTED TO CONTINUE TO THE DESTINATION RATHER THAN RETURN TO THE NEARBY DEPT ARPT. THE CLD BASES WERE AT 2000' MSL, BUT ATC COULD NOT PROVIDE AN IFR CLNC BELOW3000 FT. JUST BEFORE CRASHING, THE CREW INDICATED A TOTAL LOSS OF ELECTRICAL POWER. THE L GEN DRIVE SHAFT HAD SHEARED. THE REASON FOR THE R GEN NOT TO RESET WAS NOT DETERMINED. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT RECURRENT FLTCREW TRAINING DID NOT PREPARE THE CREW TO UNDERSTAND & COPE WITH THE ELEC PROBLEM & THAT FAA SURVEILLANCE DID NOT DETECT THE TRNG DEFICIENCY.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,891 hours in all; 3,170 in this make and model; 261 in the last 90 days; 81 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 21,182 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 64,500 lb
- Seats: 61
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce RDA-7,MK535-2 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air Illinois, INC
The flight
- Departed from: SPI Springfield IL at 1:20 am
- Destination: MDH Carbondale IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 180° at 10 knots, gusting 8
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,000 ft; not recorded at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:45 am
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 7 |
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 DCA84AA002.