Cessna 150L accident near Lake Isabella, California, November 17, 1986
On November 17, 1986 at about 8:40 pm local time, a Cessna 150L, registered N18235, was destroyed in an accident near Lake Isabella, California (Kern Valley airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 17, 1986 · about 8:40 pm local time · cases in 1986
- Place
- Lake Isabella, California · Kern Valley · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150L · all 150Ls on the register
- Registration
- N18235 · registry record · serial 15073888
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED THE KERN VALLEY AIRPORT, KERNVILLE, CALIFORNIA, ON A DIRECT CROSS-COUNTRY ROUTE TO ITS HOME BASE AT GENERAL WILLIAM J. FOX AIRFIELD, LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA. THE FLIGHT ROUTE WAS OVER MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN THAT WAS OBSCURED BY CLOUDS. A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED AND THE CREW DID NOT RECEIVE A WEATHER BRIEFING. A PILOT WHO DEPARTED KERN VALLEY AIRPORT APPROXIMATELY 30 MINUTES AFTER THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT AND FLEW BY GENERAL FOX AIRFIELD STATED THE CEILING WAS AT 5500 TO 6500 FEET MSL AND HE ELECTED TO MAINTAIN VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE GROUND BY FLYING OVER VALLEYS THUS CIRCUMNAVIGATING THE HIGHER TERRAIN. WHEN THE PILOTS DID NOT REPORT FOR WORK FOR THE AFTERNOON SHIFT ON NOVEMBER 17, 1986 FRIENDS REPORTED THEM OVERDUE TO THE FAA FLIGHT SERVICE STATION. DUE TO THE LOW CEILINGS ALONG THE AIRCRAFT'S ASSUMED FLIGHT ROUTE AND AERIAL SEARCH COULD NOT BE CONDUCTED. THE GROUND SEARCH RESCUE CREW LOCATED THE AIRCRAFT'S WRECKAGE AT APPROXIMATELY, 1450 PDT.
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: 141 hours in all; 6 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 72 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,119 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 2, 1987; 35 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KIC Kernville CA at 8:23 pm
- Destination: WJF Lancaster CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0, 3,500 ft by 50 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:51 pm from NID, 35 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N18235 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 150 7,992 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,677 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental O-200-A 297 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Mesa Del Rey Airport · nearest airport
- General WM J Fox Airfield · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in California 9,080 since 1982 · 1,096 in the last ten years
- California 28,112 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/LAX87FA045.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.