NTSB CAROL · Event
Event SEA89FA182
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
VFR FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE AIRSPEED, WHICH RESULTED IN A STALL. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, THE PILOT'S LACK OF INSTRUMENT EXPERIENCE, AND POSSIBLE SPATIAL DISORIENTATION.
Factual narrative
THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PLT (RECENTLY CERTIFIED IN CANADA AS A PVT PLT) RCVD A WX BRIEFING FM A FSS & FILED A VFR FLT PLAN TO PORTLAND, OR. HE WAS BRIEFED ON MOD TURBC, LGT TO MOD ICING, MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS & MARGINAL VFR TO IFR CEILINGS AT THE DESTINATION. ALSO, HE WAS ADVISED THAT VFR WAS NOT RECOMMENDED. WHEN THE FLT WAS ABOUT 20 MI EAST OF PORTLAND ARPT, THE PILOT CONTACTED ATC & WAS ADVISED TO MAINTAIN VFR AT 2000 FT FOR LNDG STRAIGHT-IN AT PORTLAND. ABOUT 2 MIN LATER, HE RPRTD HE WAS DSCNDG TO 1200 FT TO REMAIN VFR. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, HE ENCOUNTERED WX & INITIATED A CLIMB IN IMC. HOWEVER, DURING THE CLIMB, THE ACFT STALLED, THEN DESCENDED OUT OF CONTROL UNTIL IMPACT WITH TREES AT 1200 FT MSL. ABOUT 9 MI WEST AT THE TROUTDALE ARPT (ELEV 36 FT), THE 1518 PDT WX WAS IN PART: 1200 FT OVC, 3 MI VIS WITH MOD RAIN, WIND FROM 230 DEG AT 6 KTS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1989_SEA89FA182.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 (icing, stall, spatial disorientation, imc). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
Autogenic-Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE) Mitigates the Effects of Spatial Disorientation to Simulated Orion Spacecraft Re-Entry: Individual Differences
NASA has identified a potential risk of spatial disorientation to future astronauts during re-entry of the proposed Orion spacecraft.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR)
An Evaluation of an Analytical Simulation of an Airplane with Tailplane Icing by Comparison to Flight Data
This report presents the assessment of an analytical tool developed as part of the NASA/FAA Tailplane Icing Program. The analytical tool is a specialized simulation program called TAILSM4 which was de…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Publication (TP)
NASA/FAA Tailplane Icing Program: Flight Test Report
This report presents results from research flights that explored the characteristics of an ice-contaminated tailplane using various simulated ice shapes attached to the leading edge of the horizontal …
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Other
[Tail Plane Icing]
The Aviation Safety Program initiated by NASA in 1997 has put greater emphasis in safety related research activities. Ice-contaminated-tailplane stall (ICTS) has been identified by the NASA Lewis Icin…
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