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FTW89LA014

1988-11-05 · WINNSBORO, Texas, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport F51

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE STUDENT PLT CHECKED THE WX FOR HIS SOLO X/C AND WAS ADVISED OF STRONG WINDS AND MODERATE TURBULENCE. THE SUPERVISING FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR WAS AWARE OF THE WX REPORT AND ALLOWED THE STUDENT TO DEPART, ALTHOUGH ALL LATER X/C FLIGHTS WERE CANCELLED DUE TO THE FORECAST WINDS AND TURBULENCE. WHILE ON THE SECOND LEG, THE STUDENT ENCOUNTERED WHAT HE CALLED SEVERE TURBULENCE, AND DIVERTED TO THE CLOSEST ARPT FOR LANDING. ACCORDING TO HIS DRAWN ACCOUNT OF THE ACCIDENT, HE APPLIED FULL POWER JUST BEFORE CROSSING THE END OF THE RUNWAY, TOUCHED DOWN, ROLLED FOR A SHORT DISTANCE THEN LIFTED OFF IN A RIGHT CLIMBING TURN. THE AIRPLANE CLIMBED OVER ONE LINE OF TREES BUT IMPACTED A SECOND GROUP OF TREES AND THE TERRAIN. RUNWAY 35 WAS USED, AND A WITNESS SAID THE WINDS WERE FROM 330 DEGREES AT 20 KNOTS, GUSTING TO 30 KNOTS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_FTW89LA014.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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