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DEN89LA078

1989-02-19 · ANGEL FIRE, New Mexico, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport AXX

N9092W has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (WEBER DEL DAL-1, built 1997), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

INADEQUATE COMPENSATION FOR WIND CONDITIONS BY THE PILOT, WHICH RESULTED IN A LOSS OF AIRCRAFT CONTROL. THE ADVERSE WIND CONDITIONS AND SNOWBANK WERE RELATED FACTORS.

Factual narrative

A PRIVATE PLT AND FOUR PAX WERE MAKING A PERSONAL IFR FLIGHT. A TAKEOFF WAS ATTEMPTED ON RWY 35, WITH SNOW DRIFTS ON BOTH SIDES. WIND WAS ESTIMATED AS 320 DEG AT 25 KNOTS, WITH GUSTS TO 35 KNOTS. THE PILOT SAID THAT AT ROTATION, THE PLANE HIT WIND SHEAR FROM 260 DEG, THAT LIFTED THE LEFT WING. DIRECTIONAL CONTROL WAS LOST AND THE AIRPLANE SETTLED BACK ON THE RWY. THE LEFT MAIN WHEEL STRUCK A SNOW BANK AND THE ACFT SPUN LEFT 180 DEG. THE TAIL SECTION WENT THROUGH THE SNOW BANK AND THE PLANE DEPARTED THE RUNWAY TO THE LEFT. THE PLT SAID THAT WHEN HE EXITED THE ACFT, THE WIND WAS FROM 190 DEG AT AN ESTIMATED 40 KNOTS. A WITNESS VERIFIED A 180 DEG WIND SHIFT AND ESTIMATED THE WIND SPEED AT 40 KNOTS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_DEN89LA078.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (wind shear). All research papers