FTW89FA096
1989-05-21 · BOISE CITY, Oklahoma, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport 17K
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
AN INADVERTENT STALL RESULTING FROM THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT AND TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT AIRSPEED. THE DARK NIGHT AND ADVERSE WIND CONDITIONS WERE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS.
Factual narrative
THE AIRCRAFT WAS RETURNING FROM A CROSS-COUNTRY IN DARK NIGHT CONDITIONS AND OBSERVED EN ROUTE TO THE AIRPORT FOR WHAT APPEARED TO BE A STRAIGHT-IN LANDING TO THE NORTHEAST. THE PILOT HAD EARLIER REPORTED TURBULENCE AND SOME CONCERN WITH THE LANDING WINDS. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DISCOVERED THE NEXT MORNING IN A LOCATION CONSISTENT WITH A CROSSWIND TO RUNWAY 4. IMPACT WAS A STEEP NOSE DOWN AND LEFT WING DOWN ATTITUDE. WITNESSES REPORTED STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND A LARGE THUNDERSTORM TO THE NORTHEAST AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE AIRPORT AREA IS AN ISOLATED LOCATION WITH LITTLE OR NO VISUAL REFERENCE FOR NIGHT OPERATIONS TO THE NORTH OF THE AIRPORT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1989_FTW89FA096.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 (stall, turbulence, thunderstorm). All research papers
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR) An Examination of Aviation Accidents Associated with Turbulence, Wind Shear and Thunderstorm
The focal point of the study reported here was the definition and examination of turbulence, wind shear and thunderstorm in relation to aviation accidents.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Reprint (Version printed in journal) Observations of severe turbulence near thunderstorm tops
Data derived from the flight tapes of two airliners that experienced severe turbulence near thunderstorm tops are used to produce quantitative descriptions of the turbulence and its environment.
- 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 Proceedings Operational evaluation of thunderstorm penetration test flights during project Storm Hazards '80
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is conducting a research project called Storm Hazards '80 in order to study the prediction, detectability and avoidance of the hazards of severe storm…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Reprint (Version printed in journal) Severe Turbulence and Maneuvering from Airline Flight Records
Digital flight records from reported clear-air turbulence incidents are used to determine winds and turbulence, to determine maneuver g loads, and to analyze control problems.