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SEA89FA182

1989-09-30 · BRIDAL VEIL, Oregon, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport PDX

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

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing, stall, spatial disorientation, imc). All research papers