NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX93FA095
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO USE PITOT STATIC SYSTEM COVERS DURING ICING CONDITIONS WHICH RESULTED IN A BLOCKED PITOT TUBE AND SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF AIRSPEED INDICATIONS. THIS LED TO PILOT DISORIENTATION AND AN INVERTANT STALL. FACTORS TO THE ACCIDENT WERE IMPROPER SNOW REMOVAL AND ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS.
Factual narrative
A CESSNA 414 COLLIDED WITH A LEVEL GROUND WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND DURING A SNOW SHOWER. THE PILOT REPORTED AN EMERGENCY ONE MINUTE AFTER DEPARTING IFR AND REQUESTED TO RETURN TO THE AIRPORT UNDER VISUAL RULES. THE PILOT INDICATED TO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL THAT 'I CAN'T GET ANY SPEED.' THE VISIBILITY WAS VARIABLE AROUND THE AIRPORT WITH THE LOWEST REPORT OF 1/2 MILE. WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE TRAVELING FAST AT LOW ALTITUDE AND INDICATED BOTH ENGINES WERE RUNNING. INVESTIGATION REVEALED DURING SERVICING BEFORE THE FLIGHT, THE PITOT TUBE COVERS WERE NOT USED. ABOUT 1.5 INCHES OF SNOW HAD ACCUMULATED ON THE AIRPLANE DURING THE REFUELING AND WAS BRUSHED OFF. THE AIRPLANE WAS SEEN FLYING INTO A SNOW SHOWER AND REVERSING COURSE. WITNESSES REPORTED THE AIRPLANE'S ANGLE OF BANK TO BE 80 TO 90 DEGREES WITH A 20 DEGREE PITCH DOWN ATTITUDE. THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED INTO A SNOW COVERED PASTURE. WITNESSES REPORTED THE AIRPLANE LEVELED ITS WING JUST BEFORE IMPACT. MANUFACTURER'S SAFETY AND WARNING SUPPLEMENTS INDICATE INFLIGHT ICE PROTECTION IS NOT DESIGNED TO REMOVE SNOW ON PARKED AIRCRAFT. THE MANUFACTURER RECOMMENDS USE OF HEATED HANGARS OR APPROVED DEICING SOLUTIONS TO INSURE THE ARE NO INTERNAL ACCUMULATIONS IN PITOT STATIC SYSTEM PORTS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1993_LAX93FA095.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing, stall). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR)
An Evaluation of an Analytical Simulation of an Airplane with Tailplane Icing by Comparison to Flight Data
This report presents the assessment of an analytical tool developed as part of the NASA/FAA Tailplane Icing Program. The analytical tool is a specialized simulation program called TAILSM4 which was de…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Publication (TP)
NASA/FAA Tailplane Icing Program: Flight Test Report
This report presents results from research flights that explored the characteristics of an ice-contaminated tailplane using various simulated ice shapes attached to the leading edge of the horizontal …
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Other
[Tail Plane Icing]
The Aviation Safety Program initiated by NASA in 1997 has put greater emphasis in safety related research activities. Ice-contaminated-tailplane stall (ICTS) has been identified by the NASA Lewis Icin…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2019 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Airport Policing in Pakistan: Structure, Training, and Issue
Airports are strategically and economically important installations of any country. Airports are the gateway of any country and any incidents at these gateways may harm the very aspects of a country i…
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