NTSB CAROL · Event
Event SEA90FA183
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT IN COMMAND'S ENCOUNTERING SPATIAL DISORIENTATION AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN AIRSPEED.
Factual narrative
THE RECENTLY CERT PRIVATE PILOT WHO WAS NOT RATED FOR INST FLT TOOK OFF AT NIGHT ON A VFR X-COUNTRY FLT INTO AN AREA OF KNOWN IMC WX. WHEN THE FLT ENCOUNTERED ADVERSE WX, THE PILOT REVERSED COURSE AND ATTEMPTED TO LAND AT AN UNFAMILIAR ARPT. THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN LONG AND THE PILOT ANNOUNCED ON UNICOM THAT HE WAS MAKING A GO-AROUND. THE ACFT CLIMBED TO ABOUT 200 FT AGL, STALLED AND DESCENDED NOSE DOWN UNTIL IT IMPACTED THE GROUND. SKY WAS OVERCAST AND MODERATE RAIN WAS FALLING. THERE WAS NO ARTIFICIAL LIGHT IN THE DIRECTION OF FLT. THE PILOT HAD 5 HRS NIGHT TIME AND NONE OUTSIDE A LIGHTED METRO AREA. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1990_SEA90FA183.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 (stall, spatial disorientation, go-around, 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.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- NASA NTRS 2025 · Conference Paper
A Training Study to Improve Monitoring During A Go-Around
As part of an FAA program to improve go-around (GA) safety, we were asked to determine if we could improve the performance of the Pilot Monitoring (PM) during a GA maneuver.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Design, Implementation, and Testing of Spatial Disorientation Scenarios in a Modified Hexapod Motion Simulator
Abstract Investigations into aviation accidents aim to identify root causes and enhance safety. Despite advancements in safety measures, technology, and education, general aviation accident rates rema…
- Flight Safety Foundation 2024 · FSF / AeroSafety World
Go-Around Safety Forum Findings
Foundation Go-Around Safety Forum technical findings — examines why pilots fail to execute go-arounds when criteria are met (stabilized approach gate not met, energy state out of envelope, traffic con…
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Automating Bird Diverter Installation through Multi-Aerial Robots and Signal Temporal Logic Specifications
This paper tackles the task assignment and trajectory generation problem for bird diverter installation using a fleet of multi-rotors.
- 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.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗