NTSB CAROL · Event
Event FTW89FA117
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE INADVERTENT STALL OF THE AIRPLANE BY THE PILOT. FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE PILOT'S DISREGARD OF THE WEATHER ADVISORY, THE UNFAVORABLE WINDSHIFT, AND THE THUNDERSTORM OUTFLOW.
Factual narrative
THE AIRPLANE WAS CLEARED TO LAND ON RUNWAY 34R AND WAS ESTABLISHED ON FINAL, WHEN THE WINDS SHIFTED FROM 030 DEGREES AT 8 KNOTS TO 060 DEGREES AT 25 KNOTS. THE TOWER CONTROLLER HAD PREVIOUSLY ADVISED ALL TRAFFIC OF A LARGE THUNDER STORM ALONG THE EASTERN PERIMETER OF THE AIRPORT. THE CONTROLLER THEN ADVISED THE PILOT OF A WIND SHEAR ALERT. THE PILOT EXECUTED A TOUCH AND GO. THE WINDS SHIFTED AGAIN TO 090 DEGREES AT 20 KNOTS GUSTING TO 26 KNOTS. THE CONTROLLER ADVISED THE PILOT THAT HE COULD LAND ON RUNWAY 09. THE CONTROLLER THEN INSTRUCTED ALL AIRCRAFT TO GO AROUND AS THE WIND VELOCITY INCREASED TO 30 PLUS KNOTS. HEAVY RAIN SHOWERS WERE OCCURRING OVER THE AIRPORT. THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED TO BE IN WHAT APPEARED TO BE SLOW FLIGHT. IT ROLLED TO THE LEFT AND STALLED, THEN IT IMPACTED THE GROUND AND BURNED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1989_FTW89FA117.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 (wind shear, stall, thunderstorm). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- 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 · Conference Paper
Optimal recovery from microburst wind shear
The flight path of a twin-jet transport aircraft is optimized in a microburst encounter during approach to landing. The objective is to execute an escape maneuver that maintains safe ground clearance …
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Evolution of downdrafts and rotation in an Illinois thunderstorm
Multiple-Doppler radar observations of a non-severe Illinois thunderstorm with nearly rectilinear vertical wind shear and storm motion related to the wind at a height of 2.5 km are discussed.
- NASA NTRS 2013 · Conference Paper
Optimal nonlinear estimation for aircraft flight control in wind shear
The most recent results in an ongoing research effort at Princeton in the area of flight dynamics in wind shear are described.
- 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 2024 · Journal article (IJAAA)
The Impact of Thunderstorms on Take-off Data in South Africa
Aviation and meteorology are entwined disciplines, as aviation occurs in the atmosphere. Prevailing weather conditions at take-off are of utmost importance to aviation.
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