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LAX89DVM03

1988-12-13 · PALO ALTO, California, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport PAO

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE ACFT CRASHED 200 FT SHORT OF THE RWY IN A POND AND NOSED OVER. WITNESSES HEARD THE SOUNDS OF LOW POWER. EVIDENCE OF LOW/NO POWER WAS SHOWN BY THE PROP. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT UNAPPROVED ENGINE MODS WERE MADE BY PILOT/OWNER. AN UNTESTED CARB HEAT SYSTEM WAS INSTALLED. THE CONTROL CABLE SYSTEM WAS NOT PROPERLY MOUNTED IN THE COCKPIT; IT WAS LOOSE NEAR THE CONTROL STICK WITH NO VISIBLE MEANS OF BEING HELD IN THE CARB HEAT ON POSITION. ADDITIONALLY, THE CARB HEAT AIR DUCT, MOUNTED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE NO.4 EXHAUST PIPE, HAD NO PROVISIONS ON THE INLET OF THE DUCT TO CONCENTRATE HEATED AIR FOR PREVENTION OF CARBURETOR ICE. CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO CARBURETOR ICING EXISTED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_LAX89DVM03.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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