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LAX85FA310

1985-07-07 · BAKERSFIELD, California, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport L45

N81PW has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (PIPER PA-32-301, built 1980), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

ON JULY 7, 1985, AT 1917 PDT, A POLLIWAGEN, N81PW, COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND DURING AN ATTEMPTED GO AROUND AT BAKERSFIELDAIRPARK, BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA, WHILE ON A PERSONAL FLIGHT. VMC PREVAILED AT THE TIME; NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, AT ABOUT 1800 PDT. A WITNESS STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT MADE A NORMAL APPROACH TO RUNWAY 30 AND WHEN IT WAS 10 TO 15 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND, THE PILOT ADDED POWER TO MAKE A GO AROUND. THE AIRCRAFT REPORTEDLY CLIMBED TO ABOUT 100 TO 150 FEET AGL. THE WITNESS LOST SIGHT OF THE AIRCRAFT AT THAT TIME BUT STATED THAT HE HEARD THE ENGINE BACKFIRE 2 OR 3 TIMES AND THEN HEARD THE IMPACT. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST ADJACENT TO AN FAA HANGAR. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT INSIDE THE HANGAR. HOWEVER, THE AIRCRAFT BURNED AND A DEMPSEY DUMSPSTER AND AN UNOCCUPIED PARKED AUTOMOBILE WERE DAMAGED BY FIRE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1985_LAX85FA310.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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