Piper PA-46-350P N8888M
6 February 1990 · Bakersfield, California, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 6 February 1990 at about 23:48 local time, a Piper PA-46-350P registered N8888M, operated by James W. Hager, was involved in an accident near Bakersfield, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 23:48
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Bakersfield, California, United States
- Coordinates
- 35.5407, -118.9091
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-46-350P
- Registration
- N8888M
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- James W. Hager
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Business
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Porterville → Redlands
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- Unk
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX90FA084
People
2 people died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
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.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
BFR TKOF, PLT WAS ADZ OF IFR CONDS ALONG 1ST PART OF ROUTE, WITH FLT PRCTNS FOR OCNL MOD TURBC BLO 15,000' & MIXED ICG FM FRZG LVL (6000') TO 18,000'. HE FILED IFR FLT PLAN WITH CRUISE ALT OF 11,000'. DRG DEP, PLT WAS CLRD TO CLIMB TO 9000' & TOLD TO EXPECT CLNC TO 11,000', 5 MIN LTR . RADAR DATA SHOWED, ACFT CLIMBED AT ABT 1500'/MIN & 100 KTS, SLOWING SLIGHTLY ABV 8000'. AT ABT 9000', ACFT STARTED TO LVL & ACCELERATE. IT THEN CLIMBED MOMENTARILY, DEVIATED LATERALLY FM COURSE & ENTERED STEEP DSCNT. IN-FLT BREAKUP OCCURRED & WRECKAGE WAS SCATTERED OVR 4100' AREA. TRAJECTORY STUDY SHOWED BREAKUP OCCURRED BTN 4500' & 6500' AS ACFT WAS IN STEEP DSCNT IN EXCESS OF 266 KTS. METALLURGICAL EXAM OF WINGS & STA- BILIZERS REVEALED FEATURES TYPICAL OF OVERSTRESS SEPN; NO PREEXISTING CRACKS OR DEFECTS WERE FND. THE ACFT WAS RECENTLY PURCHASED. PLT'S SON INDCD PRINCIPAL PRBLM WAS 'TWENTY YEAR LEAP IN TECHNOLOGY' FM PREVIOUSLY OWNED PA-24, THAT PLT HAD DIFFICULTY WITH AVIONICS & FLT DRCTR/AUTOPLT, & THAT HE LACKED DETAIL TRNG IN AUTOPLT EMERGENCIES. (SEE:NTSB/SIR-92/03)
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-46 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Jun 1990 | Piper PA-46-310P | Lakeville, Michigan, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 27 May 1990 | Piper PA-46-310P | Naylor, Missouri, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 8 Jan 1990 | Piper PA-46 | Van Nuys, California, United States | Miller, Gery F. | No injuries | - |
| 1 Dec 1990 | Piper PA-46-310P | Seattle, Washington, United States | David S Weiss | No injuries | - |
| 19 Feb 1989 | Piper PA-46-310P | Angel Fire, New Mexico, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 14 Oct 1991 | Piper PA-46-310P | Sioux Center, Iowa, United States | Interstate Elect. & ENG. Co. | Serious injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Apr 1990 | Cessna 180 | Soledad, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 10 Oct 1990 | Cessna 150 | Riverside, California, United States | PAR Flight | No injuries | - |
| 17 Apr 1990 | Piper PA46 | Paso Robles, California, United States | Piper Aircraft Corp. | No injuries | - |
| 7 Oct 1990 | Cessna 182M | Bakersfield, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 1 Apr 1990 | Piper J-3 | Creston, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 11 Oct 1990 | Bell 47G4 | Merced, California, United States | John W. Myers | Serious injuries | - |