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ATL91FA035

1990-12-29 · AUSTELL, Georgia, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport FTY

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER WHICH RESULTED FROM THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO PROPERLY USE THE CARBURETOR HEAT. THE PILOT FAILED TO MAINTAIN FLYING SPEED DURING THE EMERGENCY DESCENT WHICH RESULTED IN A STALL ON FINAL APPROACH. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS WEATHER CONDITIONS FAVORABLE TO CARBURETOR ICING.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT HAD COMPLETED FOUR INSTRUMENT PROCEDURES TO FULTON COUNTY AIRPORT, AND WAS UNABLE TO LAND DUE TO LOW CEILINGS. WEATHER CONDITIONS IN THE ATLANTA AREA WERE POOR; HOWEVER ACCORDING TO APPROACH CONTROL, OTHER AIRPLANES HAD LANDED AT DEKALB-PEACHTREE AIRPORT (PDK). THE PILOT WAS INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF ATTEMPTING AN APPROACH INTO PDK; HE ELECTED TO EXECUTE ANOTHER APPROACH INTO FULTON COUNTY. DURING THE FIFTH APPROACH, THE PILOT REPORTED AN UNSPECIFIED LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. THE AIRPLANE STALLED, CRASHED, AND BURNED SHORT OF RUNWAY 8. THE WRECKAGE EXAMINATION FAILED TO INDICATE A MECHANIAL PROBLEM. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED ON A DARK NIGHT UNDER INSTRUMENT WEATHER CONDITIONS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_ATL91FA035.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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