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LAX89LA186

1989-05-23 · PHOENIX, Arizona, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport PHX

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE CLEARANCE BEHIND THE B-737 WHICH RESULTED IN THE INADVERTENT ENCOUNTER WITH WAKE TURBULENCE.

Factual narrative

THE AIRPLANE WAS ON A NIGHT FLIGHT AND WAS MAKING A VFR APPROACH AND LANDING. THE PILOT HAD BEEN INFORMED THAT HE WAS FOLLOWING A B737. ON THE BASE LEG, THE B737 WAS TURNING OFF THE RUNWAY AND THE PILOT WAS WARNED OF POSSIBLE WAKE TURBULENCE AND WAS CLEARED TO LAND. AS THE AIRPLANE WAS OVER THE THRESHOLD, THE PILOT FELT A LITTLE TURBULENCE AND INCREASED HIS AIRSPEED. THE AIRPLANE ROLLED ALMOST 360 DEGREES. THE PILOT WAS ABLE TO GET THE AIRPLANE UPRIGHT BEFORE IMPACT. THE PILOT HAD A VISUAL SIGHTING ON THE B737 THROUGHOUT ALL OF THE APPROACH AND ATTEMPTED LANDING. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_LAX89LA186.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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