Beech 200 and Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9 incident near Chicago, Illinois, May 10, 1988
On May 10, 1988 at about 9:55 pm local time, 2 aircraft, Beech 200 (N981LL) and Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9 (N1065T), were involved in the same incident near Chicago, Illinois (Chicago Midway airport). No one was hurt; 95 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. 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
- May 10, 1988 · about 9:55 pm local time
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois · Chicago Midway · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 95 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft 1
- Beech 200 · all 200s on the register
- Registration
- N981LL · registry record · serial BB602
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Public-use flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
- Aircraft 2
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9 · all DC-9s on the register
- Registration
- N1065T · registry record · serial 45779
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative for the Beech 200 final · quoted from the NTSB record
MIDWAY FLT 172 (MCDONNELL DOUGLAS DC-9, N1065T) WAS ON AN IFR DEPARTURE FROM CHICAGO MIDWAY ARPT AT THE SAME TIME THAT BEECH 200, N981LL, WAS ON AN IFR ARRIVAL FOR A VISUAL APCH TO MERRILL C MEIGS ARPT, ALTHOUGH BOTH WERE IN VMC. PREVIOUSLY, O'HARE TRACON HAD RESTRICTED EASTERLY DEPARTURES FROM MIDWAY TO NOT LESS THAN 20 MI IN-TRAIL. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE HANDOFF CONTROLLER (CTLR) AT TRACON INSTRUCTED THE CTLRS AT MIDWAY TOWER TO 'CANCEL THE RESTRICTION,' MEANING TO CANCEL THE IN-TRAIL RESTRICTION. HOWEVER, THE CTLRS AT MIDWAY THOUGHT THIS WAS IN REFERENCE TO A CLIMB RESTRICTION ON THE CANAL THREE SID WHICH FLT 172 WAS USING. SUBSEQUENTLY, FLT 172 & N981LL CONVERGED AS FLT 172 WAS CLIMBING TO 3000 FT & N981LL WAS DSCNDG TO 2000 FT. RADAR DATA SHOWED THE ACFT PASSED EACH OTHER WITH LESS THAN THE REQUIRED VERTICAL & HORIZONTAL SEPN.
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 NTSB's narrative for the Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9 final · quoted from the NTSB record
MIDWAY FLT 172 (MCDONNELL DOUGLAS DC-9, N1065T) WAS ON AN IFR DEPARTURE FROM CHICAGO MIDWAY ARPT AT THE SAME TIME THAT BEECH 200, N981LL, WAS ON AN IFR ARRIVAL FOR A VISUAL APCH TO MERRILL C MEIGS ARPT, ALTHOUGH BOTH WERE IN VMC. PREVIOUSLY, O'HARE TRACON HAD RESTRICTED EASTERLY DEPARTURES FROM MIDWAY TO NOT LESS THAN 20 MI IN-TRAIL. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE HANDOFF CONTROLLER (CTLR) AT TRACON INSTRUCTED THE CTLRS AT MIDWAY TOWER TO 'CANCEL THE RESTRICTION,' MEANING TO CANCEL THE IN-TRAIL RESTRICTION. HOWEVER, THE CTLRS AT MIDWAY THOUGHT THIS WAS IN REFERENCE TO A CLIMB RESTRICTION ON THE CANAL THREE SID WHICH FLT 172 WAS USING. SUBSEQUENTLY, FLT 172 & N981LL CONVERGED AS FLT 172 WAS CLIMBING TO 3000 FT & N981LL WAS DSCNDG TO 2000 FT. RADAR DATA SHOWED THE ACFT PASSED EACH OTHER WITH LESS THAN THE REQUIRED VERTICAL & HORIZONTAL SEPN.
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 for the Beech 200 from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 14,431 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-41 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: State Of Illinois
The flight
- Departed from: SPI Springfield IL at 9:10 pm
- Destination: MEI Chicago IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:05 pm from ORD, 11 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
The factual record for the Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9 from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,000 hours in all; 7,173 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 91,500 lb
- Seats: 85
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Midway Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: MDW Chicago IL at 9:52 pm
- Destination: PHC Philadelphia PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31L, 6,519 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 83 |
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 MIA88IA167.