NTSB CAROL · Event
Event FTW89DQA02
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE AIRSPEED, WHILE MANEUVERING TO LAND IN TURBULENT WEATHER, WHICH RESULTED IN A STALL/SPIN AND SUBSEQUENT COLLISION WITH A TREE AND THE GROUND. TURBULENCE WAS A FACTOR.
Factual narrative
THE PLT STATED THAT AFTER ABOUT 25 MIN OF FLYING IN MODERATE TURBULENCE, HE DECIDED TO LAND. AS HE WAS TURNING FROM RIGHT BASE TO FINAL, HE LOST CONTROL OF THE GLIDER & IT ENTERED A RIGHT SPIN. AFTER 2 TURNS, HE RECOVERED FROM THE SPIN & WAS LEVELING THE GLIDER, WHEN IT STRUCK A TREE & THE GROUND. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1989_FTW89DQA02.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 (stall, turbulence). 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 2021 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Comparative Study on the Prediction of Aerodynamic Characteristics of Mini - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with Turbulence Models
When dealing with CFD simulations the turbulent nature is seen on most of the engineering flows and these flows need to be solved.
- arXiv 2020 · arXiv preprint
Numerical Simulation of Iced Wing Using Separating Shear Layer Fixed Turbulence Models
Aerodynamic prediction of glaze ice accretion on airfoils and wing is studied using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes method.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Prediction of stall and post-stall behavior of airfoils at low and high Reynolds numbers
An interactive boundary-layer method, together with the e(super n)-approach to the calculation of transition, has been used to predict the stall and post-stall behavior of airfoils at low and high Rey…
- arXiv 2026 · arXiv preprint
Direct Numerical Simulations of Ice-Ocean Boundary Turbulence
Turbulent heat and freshwater transport at ice-ocean interfaces controls glacier and iceberg melt rates, yet the underlying physics remains poorly constrained.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
Political Turbulence and Aviation Safety: A Cross-National Analysis of Political Stability's Effects on Aviation Accidents
To what extent does political stability affect aviation safety? This research aims to link domestic political conditions and public safety through the consideration of aviation accident frequency.
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