Piper PA-601P accident near Ramona, California, August 8, 1989
On August 8, 1989 at about 12:20 pm local time, a Piper PA-601P, registered N6067Z, was destroyed in an accident near Ramona, California. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S VFR FLIGHT IN INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGIAL CONDITIONS (IMC) AND SPATIAL DISORIENTATION, WHICH RESULTED IN AN INADVERTENT DESCENT INTO THE GROUND. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARKNESS, LOW CEILING, AND THE PILOT'S LACK OF A PREFLIGHT WEATHER BRIEFING.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 8, 1989 · about 12:20 pm local time
- Place
- Ramona, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-601P
- Registration
- N6067Z · no longer on the register · serial 61P06660
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT TOOK OFF FROM HIS HOME, UNCONTROLLED AIRPORT, FOR A FLIGHT UNDER VISUAL FLIGHT RULES TO A DISTANT AIRPORT. A GROUND WITNESS STATED THAT INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS EXISTED AT THE AIRPORT OF DEPARTURE AT THE TIME OF THE TAKEOFF. THE PILOT INADVERTENTLY ENTERED INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS, BEGAN AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT, AND COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,843 hours in all; 222 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days; 1,789 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 878 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 19, 1989; 31 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-S1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: L39 at 12:20 pm
- Destination: SLC Salt Lake City UT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
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.