By all accounts, July 28, 1971 was a beautiful summer day … 76 degrees with 12-mile visibility. So, it was not surprising that a teenage pilot from La Grange would go to Midway Airport with two schoolmates and rent a small Piper Cherokee from the Circle Air Flying Club to which he belonged.
After all, the pilot had held his license for over a year and, with one of the other boys, he had previously flown to and from the Bahamas without incident.
The pilot did not file a flight plan, nor was one required. However, toward dusk the plane with the three young men, all students at Lyons Township High School, were spotted over the school’s south campus heading south. Then, as one witness described it, the plane’s engine “coughed and sputtered”, after which the single-engine aircraft briefly touched down on one of the school’s baseball fields.
The plane reportedly bounced back 50 feet into the air, passed over a row of houses and ended up in the backyard at 106 W. 51st Street. There, the front portion of the fuselage slammed into the home’s sliding glass patio doors, showering the recreation room with bricks and glass.
Read more and photo gallery: http://westernsprings.patch.com
http://www.ntsb.gov
14 CFR Part 91 General Aviation
Aircraft: PIPER PA-28, registration: N98008
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FILE DATE LOCATION AIRCRAFT DATA INJURIES FLIGHT PILOT DATA
F S M/N PURPOSE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-1788 71/7/28 WESTERN SPGS,ILL PIPER PA-28 CR- 1 0 0 NONCOMMERCIAL PRIVATE, AGE 17, 161
TIME - 1915 N98008 PX- 0 2 0 PLEASURE/PERSONAL TRANSP TOTAL HOURS, 84 IN TYPE,
DAMAGE-DESTROYED OT- 0 0 0 NOT INSTRUMENT RATED.
NAME OF AIRPORT - HINSDALE
DEPARTURE POINT INTENDED DESTINATION
CHICAGO,ILL LOCAL
TYPE OF ACCIDENT PHASE OF OPERATION
ENGINE FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION IN FLIGHT: OTHER
STALL IN FLIGHT: OTHER
PROBABLE CAUSE(S)
PERSONNEL - MAINTENANCE,SERVICING,INSPECTION: INADEQUATE MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION
POWERPLANT - IGNITION SYSTEM: SPARK PLUG
POWERPLANT - EXHAUST SYSTEM: MANIFOLDS
PILOT IN COMMAND - FAILED TO OBTAIN/MAINTAIN FLYING SPEED
FACTOR(S)
MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS - UNWARRANTED LOW FLYING
PARTIAL POWER LOSS - PARTIAL LOSS OF POWER - 1 ENGINE
EMERGENCY CIRCUMSTANCES - FORCED LANDING OFF AIRPORT ON LAND
REMARKS- EX PIPE NOT ATTACHED NR 2 CYL,BOTH NUTS MISSING.OIL LOW PORTION NR 3 CYL,SPARK PLUG WET.HIT HOUSE.