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NYC89LA197

1989-08-19 · PLYMOUTH, Connecticut, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

N414LF has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (BELL TEXTRON CANADA LTD 407, built 2023), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

IMPROPER COMPENSATION FOR WIND CONDITIONS BY THE PILOT. A FACTOR RELATED TO THE ACCIDETN WAS: THE DOWNDRAFT.

Factual narrative

DURING AN APPROACH FOR LANDING, THE GLIDER ENCOUNTERED A VERY STRONG SINK AND COLLIDED WITH TREES WHEN THE FLIGHT WAS UNABLE TO REACH THE AIRPORT. IT CRASHED 150 FEET SHORT OF THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD AND WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_NYC89LA197.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.