NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX88FA331
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 ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.