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SEA90FA091

1990-06-02 · TACOMA, Washington, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport GRF

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT DID NOT ADEQUATELY MAINTAIN A PROPER GLIDE PATH FOR LANDING WHICH RESULTED IN AN INFLIGHT COLLISION WITH A TREE.

Factual narrative

DURING A VFR FLIGHT, THE FLIGHTS INTENDED DESTINATION WAS REPORTING IFR CONDITINS. THE PILOT OPTED TO DIVERT TO ANOTHER AIRPORT THAT WAS REPORTING VFR. DURING THE DESCENT FOR LANDING ON FINAL APPROACH, THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH TREES. POST CRASH INVESTIGATION DID NOT REVEAL ANY MECHANICAL FAILURES OR MALFUNCTIONS. THE COCKPIT INTRUMENT PANEL WAS DESTROYED DURING THE IMPACT SEQUENCE. THE FACE OF THE ALTIMETER, HOWEVER, WAS RETRIEVED. THE BAROMETRIC PRESSURE WINDOW DISPLAYED A SETTING OF 30.10 IN HG. THE LAST SETTING AIR TRAFFIC GAVE TO THE PILOT JUST PRIOR TO ACCIDENT WAS 30.02 IN HG, A DIFFERENCE OF .08 IN OR 80 FEET WHICH WOULD HAVE INDICATED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS 80 FEET HIGHER THAN ITS ACTUAL ALTITUDE ABOVE GROUND LEVEL. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_SEA90FA091.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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