FTW92FA045
1991-12-13 · DEWITT, Arkansas, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport 5M1
N6012C has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE GVII-G600, built 2024), which was not involved in this event.
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT'S ATTEMPT TO LAND IN IMC CONDITIONS AND HER SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF CONTROL DURING CLIMB OUT DUE TO SPATIAL DISORIENTATION. A FACTOR WAS THE PILOT'S DISREGARD OF THE PRE-FLIGHT WEATHER BRIEFING.
Factual narrative
THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED IN AN OPEN FIELD ABOUT 1/2 MILE SOUTHEAST OF THE AIRPORT IN A LEFT WING LOW, NOSE LOW ATTITUDE. A GROUND WITNESS, WHO WAS A PILOT, STATED THAT HE HEARD THE AIRPLANE'S ENGINE ACCELERATE AND ENTER A LEFT TURN JUST PRIOR TO IMPACT. THE WITNESS LIVED ABOUT 200 YARDS FROM WHERE IMPACT OCCURRED. THE AIRPORT WHERE THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED WAS ABOUT TEN MILES SOUTH OF THE PILOT'S INTENDED DESTINATION. THE WEATHER AND LIGHT CONDITIONS AT THE TIME WERE THICK FOG WITH ABOUT 1/8 MILE VISIBILITY AND DARK NIGHT. DURING THE WEATHER BRIEFING THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PRIVATE PILOT WAS ADVISED THAT VFR FLIGHT WAS NOT RECOMMENDED AND THAT SHE SHOULD CALL BACK PRIOR TO DEPARTURE. THE PILOT DID NOT CALL BACK. THE PILOT HAD A TOTAL OF 14 HOURS NIGHT TIME AND 3 HOURS SIMULATED INSTRUMENT TIME. IT WAS NOT DETERMINED IF THE PILOT HAD LANDED AT THE ACCIDENT AIRPORT OR IF SHE HAD JUST MADE A LOW PASS. TOTAL ETE FOR THE FLIGHT WOULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT 47 MINUTES. TOTAL ELAPSED TIME FROM TAKEOFF TO THE ACCIDENT WAS 1 HOUR AND 42 MINUTES. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1991_FTW92FA045.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 (loss of control, spatial disorientation, imc). All research papers
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (IJAAA) Design, Implementation, and Testing of Spatial Disorientation Scenarios in a Modified Hexapod Motion Simulator
Abstract Investigations into aviation accidents aim to identify root causes and enhance safety. Despite advancements in safety measures, technology, and education, general aviation accident rates rema…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER) A Scoping Review of Aviation Loss of Control Inflight Research
Loss of control – inflight (LOC-I) contributes to aircraft accidents at unacceptably high rates. Significant industry efforts and research have aimed to improve LOC-I prevention, detection, and recove…
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2024 · SKYbrary article Loss of Control In-Flight (LOC-I) — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary comprehensive knowledge-base entry on Loss of Control In-Flight — definitions, contributing factors, accident case studies (Air France 447, Colgan 3407), and prevention strategies.
- Semantic Scholar 2024 · Article (International Conference on Networking and Services) Risk Assessment of Loss of Control In-Flight Trajectories for Urban Air Mobility Safety
In Urban Air Mobility (UAM), maintaining a minimum separation between aircraft is a safety requirement, which becomes challenging amidst congested air traffic and off-nominal conditions, such as Loss …
- NTSB Aircraft Accident Reports 2022 · Accident report Loss of Control on Takeoff in Icing Conditions — Citation 560XL
Cessna Citation 560XL fatal takeoff icing accident, March 2018. Investigation of a Citation 560XL loss-of-control takeoff accident in icing conditions.
- AOPA Air Safety Institute 2022 · Safety advisor Safety Advisor: Spatial Disorientation
Safety advisor on the perceptual illusions that cause spatial disorientation: the leans, graveyard spiral, somatogravic and somatogyral illusions, false horizon, and Coriolis.