NTSB CAROL · Event
Event SEA89LA159
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
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type. 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 2022 · arXiv preprint
AirTrack: Onboard Deep Learning Framework for Long-Range Aircraft Detection and Tracking
Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) capabilities are critical for safe operations of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). This paper introduces, AirTrack, a real-time vision-only detect and tracking framework that res…
- Semantic Scholar 2017 · Article (Trials)
Effectiveness of two web-based cognitive bias modification interventions targeting approach and attentional bias in gambling problems: study protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial
BackgroundDisordered gamblers have phenotypical and pathological similarities to those with substance use disorders (SUD), including exaggerated automatic cognitive processing of motivationally salien…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2014 · Conference paper
FAA Safety Seminar (Open to the General Public)
This seminar will focus on reducing the aviation accident rate through the enhancement of safety culture. Human factors influences on accident and incidents will also be discussed with an emphasis on …
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2003 · Journal article (JAAER)
Desirable Faculty Qualifications as Assessed by Students in the Aeronautical Science Program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Over 89% of the sophomore aerodynamics students (182 out of 207) at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University were surveyed during Spring Term 2003 to explore student preferences relative to instructor qua…
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