NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX93LA342
Registry · N5523P
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
PIPER PA-24-250
Engine
LYCOMING 0-540 SERIES (250 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19581204
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A709A8
Registrant of record
BENS MOTORWORKS INC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE AIRCRAFT'S ENCOUNTER WITH A LOW LEVEL WINDSHEAR AND THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE COMPENSATION FOR THE EXISTING WIND CONDITIONS.
Factual narrative
On September 4, 1993, at 1405 hours Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-24-250, N5523P, collided with a boundary fence while landing at the Hesperia, California, airport. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the operation. The aircraft incurred substantial damage. The certificated private pilot and the two passengers were not injured. The flight originated at El Monte, California, on the day of the mishap, at 1330 hours as a personal cross country flight. The Hesperia airport is located in a bowl shaped depression and is surrounded by trees on all sides. In his statement, the pilot said that he was on short final approach when the aircraft encountered turbulence and a down draft. The pilot said that even with the application of full power, he was unable to arrest the descent prior to the landing gear colliding with the airport boundary fence. The aircraft owner was on board as a passenger. The owner and the second passenger stated that on final approach the air was very turbulent, especially when the aircraft descended below the tops of the trees which surround the airport. The aircraft owner stated that he thought the aircraft encountered a low level wind shear caused by the trees. The closest official weather reporting station is Edwards AFB, which is located 49 miles north west of the Hesperia airport. At the time of the accident, Edwards was reporting winds from 240 degrees at 18 knots, with gusts to 27 knots. THE AIRPORT IS LOCATED IN A BOWL SHAPED DEPRESSION AND IS SURROUNDED BY TREES ON ALL SIDES. THE PILOT SAID THAT HE WAS ON SHORT FINAL APPROACH WHEN THE AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE AND A DOWNDRAFT. THE PILOT SAID THAT EVEN WITH THE APPLICATION OF FULL POWER HE WAS UNABLE TO ARREST THE DESCENT PRIOR TO THE LANDING GEAR COLLIDING WITH THE AIRPORT BOUNDARY FENCE. THE AIRCRAFT OWNER WAS ON BOARD AS A PASSENGER. THE OWNER AND THE SECOND PASSENGER STATED THAT ON FINAL APPROACH THE AIR WAS VERY TURBULENT, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDED BELOW THE TOPS OF THE TREES WHICH SURROUND THE AIRPORT. THE AIRCRAFT OWNER STATED THAT HE THOUGHT THE AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERED A LOW LEVEL WINDSHEAR CAUSED BY THE TREES. THE CLOSEST OFFICIAL WEATHER REPORTING STATION IS LOCATED 49 MILES NORTH WEST OF THE AIRPORT. AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, THE STATION WAS REPORTING WINDS FROM 240 DEGREES AT 18 KNOTS, WITH GUSTS TO 27 KNOTS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1993_LAX93LA342.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, 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.
- 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 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
Some aspects of wind shear in the upper atmosphere
Hydrodynamic turbulence and wind shear in upper atmosphere
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2019 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Low Level Turbulence Detection For Airports
Abstract—— Low level wind shear and turbulence present a serious safety risk to aircraft during the approach, landing and take-off phases.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2018 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Evaluating the Effect of Turbulence on Aircraft During Landing and Take-Off Phases
—— Low level wind shear and turbulence present a serious safety risk to aircraft during the approach, landing and take-off phases.
- arXiv 2026 · arXiv preprint
Direct Numerical Simulations of Ice-Ocean Boundary Turbulence
Turbulent heat and freshwater transport at ice-ocean interfaces controls glacier and iceberg melt rates, yet the underlying physics remains poorly constrained.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗