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LAX89FA137

1989-03-27 · WHITMORE, California, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport O89

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S DECISION TO CONTINUE VFR FLIGHT WITH KNOWN FORECAST IMC ALONG HIS ROUTE.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT RECEIVED A PREFLIGHT WX BRIEFING. THE BRIEFING FORECASTED MODERATE TURBULENCE, ICING, AND LOW CEILINGS IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN WHICH WAS ALONG HIS ROUTE. THE PILOT DEPARTED VFR. HE ENCOUNTERED FORECAST IMC CONDITIONS WHILE EN ROUTE TO HIS DESTINATION. THE PILOT THEN INITIATED A CLIMB AND CONTACTED ATC FOR AN IFR CLEARANCE. ATC CLEARED THE PILOT FOR AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH TO AN AIRPORT OTHER THAN HIS DESTINATION. DURING THE APPROACH, THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDED BELOW THE BASE OF THE CLOUDS. THE PILOT CANCELED HIS IFR CLEARANCE AND ATTEMPTED TO PROCEED VFR. MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN WAS ALONG HIS ROUTE. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE MOUNTAIN TOPS WERE OBSCURED BY LOW CEILINGS. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SEEN FLYING INTO THE CLOUDS. THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO TREES IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_LAX89FA137.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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