NTSB CAROL · Event
Event WPR15CA110
Registry · N49WC
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
BEECH B300
Year of manufacture
1996 · 19 years old at event
Engine
P&W PT6A SER (750 hp)
Seats / Engines
19 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date
19960904
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A60FB6
Registrant of record
WEST COAST AIRCRAFT SHARES LLC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The airplane encountered extreme turbulence during descent.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that while in a descent from 16,000 feet, at 1,500 feet per minute, slowing from 190 knots indicated airspeed to 160 knots, the airplane encountered extreme turbulence. The pilot reported one hard jolt up/down followed by about 15 seconds of light turbulence then one final hard jolt similar to the first. The weather was visual conditions and no turbulence was encountered prior to or after the event. A postflight examination of the airplane revealed that the extreme turbulence encountered resulted in substantial structural damage to both wings spars. The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that while in a descent from 16,000 feet, at 1,500 feet per minute, slowing from 190 knots indicated airspeed to 160 knots, the airplane encountered extreme turbulence. The pilot reported one hard jolt up/down followed by about 15 seconds of light turbulence then one final hard jolt similar to the first. The weather was visual conditions and no turbulence was encountered prior to or after the event. A postflight examination of the airplane revealed that the extreme turbulence encountered resulted in substantial structural damage to both wings spars. The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Turbulence-(general)-Effect on equipment - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2015_WPR15CA110.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 (turbulence). 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 2026 · arXiv preprint
Direct Numerical Simulations of Ice-Ocean Boundary Turbulence
Turbulent heat and freshwater transport at ice-ocean interfaces controls glacier and iceberg melt rates, yet the underlying physics remains poorly constrained.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
Political Turbulence and Aviation Safety: A Cross-National Analysis of Political Stability's Effects on Aviation Accidents
To what extent does political stability affect aviation safety? This research aims to link domestic political conditions and public safety through the consideration of aviation accident frequency.
- arXiv 2025 · arXiv preprint
Explainable LiDAR 3D Point Cloud Segmentation and Clustering for Detecting Airplane-Generated Wind Turbulence
Wake vortices - strong, coherent air turbulences created by aircraft - pose a significant risk to aviation safety and therefore require accurate and reliable detection methods.
- arXiv 2024 · arXiv preprint
Does small-scale turbulence matter for ice growth in mixed-phase clouds?
Representing the glaciation of mixed-phase clouds in terms of the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen process is a challenge for many weather and climate models, which tend to overestimate this process because…
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Effects of electrostatic interaction on clustering and collision of bidispersed inertial particles in homogeneous and isotropic turbulence
In sandstorms and thunderclouds, turbulence-induced collisions between solid particles and ice crystals lead to inevitable triboelectrification.
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2023 · SKYbrary article
Wake Vortex Turbulence — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary wake vortex turbulence comprehensive article — generation mechanics, dissipation factors, separation standards (ICAO LIGHT/MEDIUM/HEAVY/SUPER + recategorisation RECAT-EU).
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗