NTSB CAROL · Event
Event GAA15CA052
Registry · N332AL
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
ARION AIRCRAFT LLC LIGHTNING LS-1
Year of manufacture
2010 · 5 years old at event
Engine
JABIRU 3300 (120 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20101201
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A39D48
Registrant of record
SCHWEITZER JAY A
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's failure to maintain control while landing in gusty wind conditions.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that during an approach to landing in gusty crosswind conditions, the airplane encountered turbulence about ten feet above the runway and suddenly lost altitude. The airplane landed hard, and collapsed the nose landing gear, then exited the right side of the runway and collapsed the main landing gear. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.A review of local weather data indicated that there was low level wind shear associated with high based convective activity approximately five miles north of the airport. There were several pilot reports in the area indicating moderate turbulence below 10,000 feet. Additionally, two pilot reports for moderate turbulence below 2,000 feet and low level wind shear were made within an hour of the accident. The National Weather Service issued an Airman's Meteorological Advisory, current at the time of the accident, for turbulence below 10,000 feet. The pilot stated that during an approach to landing in gusty crosswind conditions, the airplane encountered turbulence about ten feet above the runway and suddenly lost altitude. The airplane landed hard, and collapsed the nose landing gear, then exited the right side of the runway and collapsed the main landing gear. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. A review of local weather data indicated that there was low level wind shear associated with high based convective activity approximately five miles north of the airport. There were several pilot reports in the area indicating moderate turbulence below 10,000 feet. Additionally, two pilot reports for moderate turbulence below 2,000 feet and low level wind shear were made within an hour of the accident. The National Weather Service issued an Airman's Meteorological Advisory, current at the time of the accident, for turbulence below 10,000 feet. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- C Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation - C
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2015_GAA15CA052.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, 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.
- 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 · Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Convectively Induced Turbulence Encountered During NASA's Fall-2000 Flight Experiments
Aircraft encounters with atmospheric turbulence are a leading cause of in-flight injuries aboard commercial airliners and cost the airlines millions of dollars each year.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
Some aspects of wind shear in the upper atmosphere
Hydrodynamic turbulence and wind shear in upper atmosphere
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2019 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Low Level Turbulence Detection For Airports
Abstract—— Low level wind shear and turbulence present a serious safety risk to aircraft during the approach, landing and take-off phases.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2018 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Evaluating the Effect of Turbulence on Aircraft During Landing and Take-Off Phases
—— Low level wind shear and turbulence present a serious safety risk to aircraft during the approach, landing and take-off phases.
- 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.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗