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LAX88FA307

1988-09-03 · GRAND CANYON, Arizona, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport GCN

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT FAILED TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT DURING NIGH VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. CONTRIBUTING TO THIS ACCIDENT WAS THE PILOT'S LACK OF RECENT EXPERIENCE AT NIGH AND THE LACK OF OUTSIDE VISUAL REFERENCES DUE TO DARKNESS.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT HAD FLOWN THE ACFT ON TWO PREVIOUS FLIGHTS ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT. THE FIRST FLT WAS WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE SECOND FLT WAS ABORTED DURING THE TAKEOFF CLIMB. THE PILOT CALCULATED HIS WEIGHT ONBOARD AND REALIZED HE EXCEEDED THE MAX GROSS. HE DEFUELED AN UNKNOWN QUANTITY OF FUEL AND PLANNED TO STAY THE NIGHT IN THE AREA BUT WAS UNABLE TO SECURE LODGING. HE THEN ELECTED TO CONTINUE THE FLT THAT NIGHT. WITNESSES STATED THE ACFT CLIMBED TO APRX 200 FT WITH THE WINGS FLUCTUATING IN BANK ANGLE AFTER WHICH THE ACFT ENTERED A SPIRAL AND DESCENDED TO THE GROUND. DENSITY ALT WAS CALCULATED TO HAVE BEEN 8,500 FT WHEN THE TAKEOFF OCCURRED. THE ARPT PROVIDES A 'BLACK HOLE' ENVIROMENT AT NIGHT. REVIEW OF THE PLT LOGBOOKS REVEALED A LACK OF RECENT NIGHT EXPERIENCE IN ACCORDANCE WITH FAR PART 61.75(D). Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_LAX88FA307.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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