NTSB CAROL · Event
Event FTW95LA006
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE. A FACTOR WAS THE LACK OF SUITABLE TERRAIN AVAILABLE FOR THE FORCED LANDING.
Factual narrative
On October 2, 1994, at 1400 mountain daylight time, a Brasov IS-28B2, N70792, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local personal flight. The pilot/operator report stated the following information. During takeoff initial climb, the tow plane and glider flew through a "dust devil" and the turbulence that was encountered produced slack in the tow line. The glider pilot made a correction for the slack; however, when the tow line became taught, it "snapped." Since the glider was less than 200 feet above the ground, the pilot made the decision to land straight ahead on a dirt road. During the final approach, the left wing struck 15 foot high brush which subsequently "spun the glider around as it impacted the ground." According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the left wing spar was damaged, and the tail section was twisted. DURING TAKEOFF INITIAL CLIMB, THE TOW PLANE AND GLIDER FLEW THROUGH A 'DUST DEVIL' AND THE TURBULENCE THAT WAS ENCOUNTERED CAUSED SLACK IN THE TOW LINE. THE GLIDER PILOT MADE A CORRECTION FOR THE SLACK; HOWEVER, WHEN THE TOW LINE BECAME TAUT, IT 'SNAPPED.' SINCE THE GLIDER WAS LESS THAN 200 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND, THE PILOT DECIDED TO LAND STRAIGHT AHEAD ON A ROAD. DURING FINAL APPROACH, THE LEFT WING STRUCK 15 FOOT HIGH BRUSH WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY 'SPUN THE GLIDER AROUND AS IT IMPACTED THE GROUND.' THE LEFT WING SPAR WAS DAMAGED, AND THE TAIL SECTION WAS TWISTED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1994_FTW95LA006.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
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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 (turbulence). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- arXiv 2026 · arXiv preprint
Direct Numerical Simulations of Ice-Ocean Boundary Turbulence
Turbulent heat and freshwater transport at ice-ocean interfaces controls glacier and iceberg melt rates, yet the underlying physics remains poorly constrained.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
Political Turbulence and Aviation Safety: A Cross-National Analysis of Political Stability's Effects on Aviation Accidents
To what extent does political stability affect aviation safety? This research aims to link domestic political conditions and public safety through the consideration of aviation accident frequency.
- arXiv 2025 · arXiv preprint
Explainable LiDAR 3D Point Cloud Segmentation and Clustering for Detecting Airplane-Generated Wind Turbulence
Wake vortices - strong, coherent air turbulences created by aircraft - pose a significant risk to aviation safety and therefore require accurate and reliable detection methods.
- arXiv 2024 · arXiv preprint
Does small-scale turbulence matter for ice growth in mixed-phase clouds?
Representing the glaciation of mixed-phase clouds in terms of the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen process is a challenge for many weather and climate models, which tend to overestimate this process because…
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Effects of electrostatic interaction on clustering and collision of bidispersed inertial particles in homogeneous and isotropic turbulence
In sandstorms and thunderclouds, turbulence-induced collisions between solid particles and ice crystals lead to inevitable triboelectrification.
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2023 · SKYbrary article
Wake Vortex Turbulence — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary wake vortex turbulence comprehensive article — generation mechanics, dissipation factors, separation standards (ICAO LIGHT/MEDIUM/HEAVY/SUPER + recategorisation RECAT-EU).
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗