NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX07LA065
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation and attempted flight into known adverse weather during cruise, and his failure to maintain an adequate airspeed margin that resulted in a stall/spin. Turbulence was a factor.
Factual narrative
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On December 27, 2006, about 1330 Pacific standard time, a Beech A36, N4598S, collided with terrain after encountering severe turbulence near Lake Hughes, California. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The private pilot sustained serious injuries; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The cross-country personal flight departed General William J. Fox Airfield (WJF), Lancaster, California, about 1300, with a planned destination of Chico Municipal Airport, Chico, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. In a written statement, the pilot reported that on the morning of the flight he checked the weather via the computer, and he also called a Flight Service Station for a weather briefing. The briefing revealed high winds and mountain obscuration along the route of flight. During the preflight inspection, the pilot noted dark clouds in the Tehachapi Pass area, and clear skies to the west. He stated that his usual flight path would take him on a northwesterly heading at an altitude of 8,500 feet. To avoid the weather, he decided to depart on a westerly heading, and climb to 12,500 feet mean sea level (msl) over the Lake Hughes area. Once he had attained his cruise altitude, he observed clear skies, and estimated that he was approximately 5,000 feet above the cloud tops. He then encountered "a strong downdraft/windshear of huge proportions." He applied full power, and initiated a 180-degree turn, but was unable to maintain altitude. The airplane descended into the cloud layer. While in the clouds, the pilot experienced heavy turbulence; the airplane stalled, and entered a spin. The pilot recovered from the spin momentarily before the airplane again stalled, and entered a second spin. The airplane then exited the clouds at approximately 500 feet above ground level (agl). The pilot reported he was "boxed in" and unable to escape rising terrain without entering the clouds. The pilot then found an upsloping hill, slowly bled off airspeed, and performed a "pancake" landing.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
The closest official weather observation station was WJF, which was 24 nautical miles east of the accident site. An aviation routine weather report (METAR) for WJF was issued at 1256. It stated: winds from 250 degrees at 27 knots, gusting to 31 knots; visibility 10 miles; light rain; few clouds 3,000 feet, 4,200 feet overcast; temperature 10 degrees Celsius; dew point -1 degree Celsius; altimeter 29.78 inches of mercury. AIRMETS for mountain obscuration, turbulence and low level wind shear, as well as SIGMETS for occasional severe turbulence below 15,000 feet, were all issued for California, including portions of the airplane's route of flight. Around the time of the accident, pilot weather reports from Southern California indicated widespread moderate to severe turbulence, at altitudes ranging between 3,000 and 37,000 feet. Prior to flight, the pilot checked the weather and also received a weather briefing from a Flight Service Station. The briefing revealed high winds and mountain obscuration along his route of flight. In order to avoid the adverse weather, the pilot departed on a westerly heading and climbed to 12,500 feet rather than his usual altitude of 8,500 feet, on a northwesterly heading across mountainous terrain. Thirty minutes into the flight he encountered strong downdrafts and wind shear on the lee side of the mountains. He applied full power, and initiated a 180-degree turn but was unable to maintain altitude. The airplane descended into a cloud layer, and continued to experience severe turbulence; the airplane subsequently stalled and entered a spin. The pilot recovered from the spin momentarily, before the airplane again stalled and entered a second spin. The airplane then exited the clouds at approximately 500 feet agl. The pilot then force landed the airplane into rising terrain. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2006_LAX07LA065.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, stall, 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.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Comparative Study on the Prediction of Aerodynamic Characteristics of Mini - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with Turbulence Models
When dealing with CFD simulations the turbulent nature is seen on most of the engineering flows and these flows need to be solved.
- arXiv 2020 · arXiv preprint
Numerical Simulation of Iced Wing Using Separating Shear Layer Fixed Turbulence Models
Aerodynamic prediction of glaze ice accretion on airfoils and wing is studied using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes method.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Optimal recovery from microburst wind shear
The flight path of a twin-jet transport aircraft is optimized in a microburst encounter during approach to landing. The objective is to execute an escape maneuver that maintains safe ground clearance …
- 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 · Conference Paper
Prediction of stall and post-stall behavior of airfoils at low and high Reynolds numbers
An interactive boundary-layer method, together with the e(super n)-approach to the calculation of transition, has been used to predict the stall and post-stall behavior of airfoils at low and high Rey…
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