Amateur-built Bowers Fly Baby-1A accident near Oakdale, California, October 20, 2006
On October 20, 2006 at about 11:22 pm local time, a amateur-built Bowers Fly Baby-1A, registered N6054Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Oakdale, California (Oakdale airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
a loss of engine power due to the pilot's failure to use carburetor heat during conditions that were conducive to carburetor icing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 20, 2006 · about 11:22 pm local time
- Place
- Oakdale, California · Oakdale · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Bowers Fly Baby-1A
- Registration
- N6054Q · no longer on the register · serial 1068
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While attempting to return to the airport following a loss of engine power, the airplane contacted rough terrain during a forced landing in an open field about 3,000 feet short of the runway. A wing and the main landing gear were separated from the airplane after touchdown. Following the loss of power, the pilot activated the carburetor heat to no avail. He turned back to the airport and when he knew he wasn't going to make the runway, he made the forced landing. A plot of the temperature and dew point on a carburetor icing chart revealed that the possibility existed for icing conditions at glide and cruise power settings. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane, and that he should have checked more frequently for carburetor ice during the flight.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Sport Pilot
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: condition inspection, October 1, 2006
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental A65-8F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: O27 Oakdale CA at 11:12 pm
- Destination: O27
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 3,000 ft by 66 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.84 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from MOD
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N6054Q the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.