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ATL91LA003

1990-10-14 · LEXINGTON, North Carolina, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport EXX

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO ESTABLISH AN APPROACH PROFILE WHICH WOULD HAVE ALLOWED HIM TO MAKE A SAFE LANDING ON THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT MISJUDGED HIS ALTITUDE AND AIRSPEED THROUGHOUT THE APPROACH. A FACTOR TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE COLLISION WITH THE RAILROAD BERM.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT OVERSHOT THE RUNWAY WHILE ATTEMPTING A FULL-STOP LANDING. THE PILOT SAID THAT THIS WAS THE SECOND LANDING ATTEMPT. ON THE FIRST ATTEMPT, HE WAS TOO HIGH AND FAST FOR A SAFE LANDING. DURING THE NEXT APPROACH THE CARBURETOR HEAT LEVER WAS PLACED IN THE ON POSITION FOR THE LANDING. WHEN THE PILOT REALIZED THAT HE WAS AGAIN TOO HIGH AND FAST, HE ATTEMPTED A GO-AROUND. BUT THERE WAS NOT AN INSTANT POWER RESPONSE WHEN THE THROTTLE WAS ADVANCED. THE PILOT DECIDED TO CONTINUE THE LANDING ATTEMPT. THE AIRPLANE WENT OFF THE DEPARTURE END OF RUNWAY 8 AND COLLIDED WITH A RAILROAD EMBANKMENT; THERE WERE NO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS REPORTED. . Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_ATL91LA003.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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