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LAX90LA253

1990-07-12 · SPRINGERVILLE, Arizona, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE ENCOUNTER WITH A DOWNDRAFT BEYOND THE CLIMB CAPABILITY OF THE AIRCRAFT.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT SAID HE WAS IN CRUISE OVER A MOUNTAINOUS AREA WHEN THE FLIGHT ENCOUNTERED SEVERE DOWN DRAFTS. THE AIRCRAFT WAS APPROACHING HIGH TENSION POWER LINES AND HE ELECTED TO FLY UNDER THEM. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE 'NEVER COULD GET THE AIRCRAFT TO CLIMB AGAIN,' AND THE AIRCRAFT SETTLED ONTO THE GROUND AND COLLIDED WITH A LARGE ROCK. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_LAX90LA253.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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