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SEA89LA159

1989-08-26 · ATLANTA, Idaho, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 55H

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S FAILUE TO ADEQUATELY COMPENSATE FOR THE DOWNDRAFT CONDITIONS. CONTRIBUTING FACTOR(S) WAS: THE DOWNWIND, DOWNDRAFT, AND HIGH DENSITY ALTITUDE WEATHER CONDITIONS, AND THE SURROUNDING MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE OVER FLEW THE RUNWAY AT 500-600 FT AGL TO DETERMINE WIND DIRECTION AND THAT THE RUNWAY WAS CLEAR OF OBSTRUCTIONS. AT THE END OF THE RUNWAY THE AIRPLANE ENCOUNTERED A DOWNDRAFT, LOST 300-400 FT, AND COLLIDED WITH TREES. THE AIRPLANE WAS FLYING WITH A TAILWIND OF 8-10 MPH. THE STRIP IS LOCATED IN A MOUNTAINOUS AREA WITH HIGH TIMBERED RIDGES THAT LIMIT MANEUVERING. ELEVATION IS 5,500 FT MSL. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_SEA89LA159.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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