NTSB CAROL · Event
Event FTW89FA037
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT'S DECISION TO CONTINUE VFR FLIGHT INTO IMC. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND THE DARK NIGHT.
Factual narrative
PILOT ADVISED DURING WX BRIEFING THAT POSSIBLE IMC COULD BE EXPECTED ALONG FLIGHT ROUTE & THAT VFR FLIGHT WAS NOT RECOMMENDED. DEPARTED WACO AT 2032 CST FOR SAN ANTONIO. AT 2131 PILOT CONTACTED SAN ANTONIO APPROACH CONTROL, PROVIDED WITH LOCAL WX - CEILING 1,000 BROKEN. OFFERED, BUT DENIED, IFR CLEARANCE. AT 2135 PILOT INSTRUCTED TO MAINTAIN VFR CONDITIONS. PILOT REPORTED HIS ALTITUDE AS 1,500 FT MSL. AIRCRAFT IMPACTED GROUND IN CRUISE ATTITUDE AT APRX 1,250 FT MSL. PILOT WAS IN CONTACT WITH ATC THROUGHOUT ENTIRE FLIGHT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1989_FTW89FA037.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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