- Date
- May 12, 1982, 21:30 local (May 13, 1982, 03:30 UTC)
- Place
- Carlsbad, NM
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N9789SGulfstream American 980(695)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report May 12, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820512015459A
- Case key
- 70134
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The acft crashed about 1/2 mi sw of the departure end of rwy 32L. The rwy had been illuminated at the time of takeoff with the acft making a left turn into an area that was not illuminated toward the mountains. It was a very dark night with an indistiguishable horizon southwestward toward the higher mountains. There were two brightly lit softball complexes located to the north toward the city. A weather study indicated probable moderate to severe turbulence & up & down drafts below 7,000 ft MSL, & light to moderate wind shear from the surface up to 300 ft AGL. A witness who saw the fireball stated she had lost control of her car because a gust of wind pushed her car into the other lane of traffic.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9789S
- Reported as
- Gulfstream American 980(695)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 95037
- Airframe hours
- 460
- Engine
- Airesearch TPE-331-501K, 733 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Stanley Eugene Wwaugh
- Registered owner
- Sweetwater Drilling Company
- Departed
- Carlsbad, NM
- Destination
- C · Oklahoma City, OK
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- Cavern City
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 43
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 7,000 total · 35 in this make and model · 250 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 280° at 21 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Temperature
- 149 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.