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LAX88FA331

1988-05-11 · OCOTILLO, California, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

INFLIGHT COLLISION WITH TERRAIN FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS.

Factual narrative

THE AIRCRAFT DISAPPEARED ON MAY 11, 1988, WHILE ON A PRESUMED LOCAL PERSONAL FLIGHT. FOUR INDIVIDUALS WERE SEEN TO BOARD THE AIRCRAFT, INCLUDING THE OWNER. ONLY TWO PERSONS COULD BE IDENTIFIED ON THE BASIS OF FRAGMENTARY REMAINS AT THE SITE, NEITHER OF WHICH WAS THE AIRCRAFT OWNER. THE PARTIALLY BURIED AIRCRAFT WAS FOUND IN A DESERT DRY WASH ON OCT 16, 1988, NO GROUND SCARS WERE FOUND IN THE WASH WHERE HEAVY WATER ACTIVITY WAS PRESENT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS ALMOST TOTALLY CONSUMED BY FIRE. NO PREIMACT MALFUNCTIONS OR FAILURES WERE IDENTIFIED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_LAX88FA331.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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