NTSB CAROL · Event
Event FTW90FA091
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT'S INADVERTENT STALL OF THE AIRPLANE WHILE MANEUVERING AFTER A PARTIAL POWER LOSS DURING INITIAL CLIMB AND A PARTIALLY BLOCKED EXHAUST SYSTEM WHICH HAD BEEN INADEQUATELY MAINTAINED.
Factual narrative
AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED TO TAKEOFF ON RUNWAY 13. SHORTLY AFTER LIFTOFF, WITNESSES SAW THE AIRPLANE DECREASE ITS CLIMB ANGLE OR LEVEL OFF AT ABOUT 200 FEET AGL AND TURN LEFT. THE ANGLE OF BANK STEEPENED UNTIL A POINT ABOUT 120 DEGREES INTO THE TURN. THE AIRPLANE THEN STALLED & ENTERED A STEEP NOSE DOWN, LEFT WING LEADING ATTITUDE UNTIL GROUND IMPACT. WINDS WERE REPORTED FROM 120 DEGREES AT 8 KNOTS. WITNESSES STATED IT APPEARED THAT THE ENGINE WAS NOT DEVELOPING FULL POWER DURING THE TAKEOFF & INITIAL CLIMB. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE FLAME TUBE OF THE LEFT MUFFLER HAD SEPARATED & PARTIALLY BLOCKED THE OUTFLOW FROM THE MUFFLER. THIS BLOCKAGE CAUSED BACK PRESSURE IN THE EXHAUST SYSTEM EVIDENCED BY SOOTING OF THE EXHAUST STACKS AND PLUGS ON THE LEFT SIDE. THE AIRPLANE HAD RECEIVED AN ANNUAL INSPECTION 11 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT AND THERE WERE NO SUBSEQUENT ENTRIES. AIRPLANE RECORDS DID NOT INDICATE WHEN THE MUFFLERS HAD LAST BEEN OVERHAULED OR REPLACED. PILOT'S MOST RECENT MEDICAL CERTIFICATE WAS ISSUED ON 3/19/79. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1990_FTW90FA091.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). 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 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 …
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Automating Bird Diverter Installation through Multi-Aerial Robots and Signal Temporal Logic Specifications
This paper tackles the task assignment and trajectory generation problem for bird diverter installation using a fleet of multi-rotors.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Polycrystallinity enhances stress build-up around ice
Damage caused by freezing wet, porous materials is a widespread problem, but is hard to predict or control. Here, we show that polycrystallinity makes a great difference to the stress build-up process…
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (JAAER)
Analysis on the Negative Emotional, Physiological, and Cognitive Responses Elicited from of the Activation of a Stall Alarm
Failing to identify an aerodynamic stall can lead to the inability of an aircraft to sustain flight. To warn pilots of an impending or fully-developed stall, many aircraft have safety devices installe…
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