LAX90LA085

1990-02-04 · MAMMOTH LAKES, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MMH

Aircraft involved

N8620N Piper PA-32-300 None

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE REMOVAL OF ICE FROM THE FUSELAGE, WINGS, AND HORIZONTAL STABILIZER PRIOR TO TAKEOFF.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT REPORTED ENCOUNTERING PROP RPM PROBLEMS WHICH DETERIORATED THE AIRPLANE'S CLIMB PERFORMANCE AND HE ELECTED TO LAND IN A ROUGH/UNEVEN FIELD. GROUND WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE STAGGERED INTO THE AIR IN GROUND EFFECT AND THEN CRASHED. THE WITNESSES ALSO STATED THAT UPON THEIR ARRIVAL AT THE ACCIDENT SITE, THE AIRPLANE'S WINGS, FUSELAGE, AND EMPENNAGE WERE COVERED WITH ICE THAT APPEARED TO HAVE MELTED AND REFROZEN. THE PLT REPORTED THAT HE HAD REMOVED ICE BEFORE DEPARTING. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_LAX90LA085.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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