NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ATL89FA165
Registry · N78TW
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
AIRPLANE FACTORY SLING 2
Year of manufacture
2020
Engine
ROTAX 912ULS SERIES (100 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20200630
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AA8FEB
Registrant of record
FAIRCHILD CHASE
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT EXERCISED QUESTIONABLE JUDGEMENT IN INITIATING A FLIGHT INTO AN AREA OF KNOWN THUNDERSTORMS. FURTHER, EITHER DELIBERATELY OR INADVERTANTLY ENTERED A THUNDERSTORM AND OVERSTRESSED THE AIRFRAME STRUCTURE RESULTING IN AN INFLIGHT SEPARATION OF THE AERODYNAMIC SURFACES.
Factual narrative
AFTER OBTAINING A WEATHER BRIEFING IN WHICH HE WAS INFORMED OF THUNDERSTORMS AND CURRENT SIGMETS FOR HIS INTENDED ROUTE OF FLIGHT, THE PILOT ELECTED TO DEPART HIS HOME AIRPORT ON A PERSONAL FLIGHT. AT THE TIME OF DEPARTURE, WITNESSES INDICATED THE PRESENCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ADJACENT TO THE AIRPORT. AFTER TRYING TO OBTAIN HIS IFR CLEARANCE FROM CHARLOTTE, THE PILOT WAS ISSUED HIS IFR CLEARANCE WHEN APPROACHING COLUMBIA, SC. THE PILOT HAD DEVIATED AROUND AT LEAST ONE THUNDERSTORM WHILE APPROACHING COLUMBIA. THE PILOT HAD BEEN CLEARED TO CLIMB TO HIS REQUESTED ALTITUDE OF 17,000 FEET AND HAD REACHED 16,400 WHEN THE RADAR RETURN WAS OBSERVED TO INDICATE A DESCENT AND THEN WAS LOST. WITNESSES ON THE GROUND REPORTED SEEING THE AIRPLANE EXIT THE CLOUDS IN FLAMES. THE EVIDENCE INDICATED THAT THE HORIZONTAL TAIL HAD SEPARATED FOLLOWED BY THE WINGS AND OTHER COMPONENTS OF THE AIRPLANE. NO EVIDENCE OF SEPARATION DUE TO STRUCTURAL WEAKENING FROM HEATING WAS FOUND. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1989_ATL89FA165.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (thunderstorm). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (IJAAA)
The Impact of Thunderstorms on Take-off Data in South Africa
Aviation and meteorology are entwined disciplines, as aviation occurs in the atmosphere. Prevailing weather conditions at take-off are of utmost importance to aviation.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
Thunderstorm hazards flight research: Storm hazards 1980 overview
A highly instrumented NASA F-106B aircraft, modified for the storm hazards mission and protected against direct lightning strikes, was used in conjunction with various ground based radar and lightning…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Proceedings
Operational evaluation of thunderstorm penetration test flights during project Storm Hazards '80
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is conducting a research project called Storm Hazards '80 in order to study the prediction, detectability and avoidance of the hazards of severe storm…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Nowcasting Thunderstorm Anvil Clouds Over KSC/CCAFS
Electrified thunderstorm anvil clouds extend the threat of natural and triggered lightning to space launch and landing operations far beyond the immediate vicinity of thunderstorm cells.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR)
An Examination of Aviation Accidents Associated with Turbulence, Wind Shear and Thunderstorm
The focal point of the study reported here was the definition and examination of turbulence, wind shear and thunderstorm in relation to aviation accidents.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Observations of severe turbulence near thunderstorm tops
Data derived from the flight tapes of two airliners that experienced severe turbulence near thunderstorm tops are used to produce quantitative descriptions of the turbulence and its environment.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗