Summary
On February 06, 1990, a Piper PA-46-350P (N8888M) was involved in an accident near Bakersfield, CA. The accident resulted in 2 fatal injuries. The aircraft was destroyed.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this accident to be: THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO ACTIVATE THE PITOT HEAT BEFORE FLYING AT AND ABOVE THE FREEZING LEVEL IN INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), FOLLOWED BY HIS IMPROPER RESPONSE TO ERRONEOUS AIRSPEED INDICATIONS THAT RESULTED FROM BLOCKAGE OF THE PITOT TUBE BY ATMOSPHERIC ICING. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS SPATIAL DISORIENTATION OF THE PILOT.
This accident is documented in NTSB report LAX90FA084. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N8888M.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO ACTIVATE THE PITOT HEAT BEFORE FLYING AT AND ABOVE THE FREEZING LEVEL IN INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), FOLLOWED BY HIS IMPROPER RESPONSE TO ERRONEOUS AIRSPEED INDICATIONS THAT RESULTED FROM BLOCKAGE OF THE PITOT TUBE BY ATMOSPHERIC ICING. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS SPATIAL DISORIENTATION OF THE PILOT.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Historical)
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# LAX90FA084