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LAX90FA235

1990-07-01 · LAKE HAVASU, Arizona, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport LHV

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S INFLIGHT LOSS OF CONTROL DUE TO FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE AIRSPEED. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE HIGH DENSITY ALTITUDE, OVERWEIGHT AIRPLANE, AND THE PILOT'S ALCOHOL LEVEL.

Factual narrative

AFTER LIFTOFF, THE AIRCRAFT WAS SEEN TO MAKE A RIGHT TURN PRIOR TO THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY AND HEAD TOWARDS A PORTION OF THE LAKE WHERE THE PILOT AND PASSENGERS HAD VISITED FRIENDS EARLIER IN THE DAY. WITNESSES STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS LOW AND SLOW WITH A NOSE HIGH ATTITUDE WHEN THE WINGS BEGAN TO ROCK BACK AND FORTH. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED IN THE WATER AFTER ABOUT 180 DEG OF ROTATION. TOXICOLOGICAL TESTS ON THE PILOT WERE POSITIVE FOR ALCOHOL AT A REPORTED LEVEL OF 0.08%. THE AIRCRAFT WAS OVER MAX GROSS WEIGHT BY ABOUT 8 LBS. THE DENSITY ALTITUDE WAS 4,234 FT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_LAX90FA235.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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