NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX01LA020
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The airplane's encounter with a strong updraft at the end of the runway that induced an increase in the wing's angle of attack to the critical point, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and spin.
Factual narrative
On October 21, 2000, about 1545 hours Pacific daylight time, a Ryan ST3KR, N50870, was destroyed when it collided with trees 1 minute after departing from the airport at Georgetown, California. The private pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot sustained serious injuries and his passenger sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight, destined for Jackson, California, and no flight plan had been filed. The pilot stated that on initial climb from runway 34, he remained in ground effect until the end of the runway. The airplane encountered a strong updraft at the end of the runway, stalled, and spun into the trees. The airplane impacted the ground in a steep, wooded area, and was destroyed. The pilot also stated that there were no mechanical irregularities. The pilot said that on initial climb after takeoff the airplane remained in ground effect until reaching the end of the runway. Thereafter, the airplane stalled and spun after encountering a strong updraft. It impacted a steep, wooded hillside area. The pilot said there were no mechanical problems with the airplane. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2000_LAX01LA020.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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