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LAX89LA176

1989-04-30 · SIERRAVILLE, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport O79

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S ATTEMPT TO LAND DOWNWIND ON THE RUNWAY AND THE INABILITY TO ATTAIN A CLIMB AFTER ABORTING THE LANDING WHICH RESULTED IN A STALL AND UNCONTROLLED DESCENT INTO THE GROUND.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT STATED THAT THE WINDS WERE OUT OF 210 DEGREES AT 12 KTS. A WITNESS OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT APPROACHING RUNWAY 03 LOW AND FAST. SHE STATED THAT THE MAIN GEAR HAD JUST TOUCHED DOWN ON THE RUNWAY WHEN A GUST OF WIND FROM THE RIGHT LIFTED THE RIGHT WING. THE PILOT PULLED THE NOSE UP IN WHAT APPEARED TO BE A GO AROUND, HOWEVER, THE WING STALLED AND CONTACTED THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT REPORTED ENCOUNTERING A SEVERE DOWNDRAFT WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH, ADDING FULL POWER AND ENCOUNTERING ANOTHER DOWNDRAFT BEFORE COLLIDING WITH THE RUNWAY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_LAX89LA176.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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