Piper PA-46-350P accident near Bakersfield, California, February 6, 1990
On February 6, 1990 at about 11:48 pm local time, a Piper PA-46-350P, registered N8888M, was destroyed in an accident near Bakersfield, California. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO ACTIVATE THE PITOT HEAT BEFORE FLYING AT AND ABOVE THE FREEZING LEVEL IN INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), FOLLOWED BY HIS IMPROPER RESPONSE TO ERRONEOUS AIRSPEED INDICATIONS THAT RESULTED FROM BLOCKAGE OF THE PITOT TUBE BY ATMOSPHERIC ICING. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS SPATIAL DISORIENTATION OF THE PILOT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 6, 1990 · about 11:48 pm local time
- Place
- Bakersfield, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-46-350P · all PA-46-350Ps on the register
- Registration
- N8888M · registry record · serial 46-22091
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
BFR TKOF, PLT WAS ADZ OF IFR CONDS ALONG 1ST PART OF ROUTE, WITH FLT PRCTNS FOR OCNL MOD TURBC BLO 15,000' & MIXED ICG FM FRZG LVL (6000') TO 18,000'. HE FILED IFR FLT PLAN WITH CRUISE ALT OF 11,000'. DRG DEP, PLT WAS CLRD TO CLIMB TO 9000' & TOLD TO EXPECT CLNC TO 11,000', 5 MIN LTR . RADAR DATA SHOWED, ACFT CLIMBED AT ABT 1500'/MIN & 100 KTS, SLOWING SLIGHTLY ABV 8000'. AT ABT 9000', ACFT STARTED TO LVL & ACCELERATE. IT THEN CLIMBED MOMENTARILY, DEVIATED LATERALLY FM COURSE & ENTERED STEEP DSCNT. IN-FLT BREAKUP OCCURRED & WRECKAGE WAS SCATTERED OVR 4100' AREA. TRAJECTORY STUDY SHOWED BREAKUP OCCURRED BTN 4500' & 6500' AS ACFT WAS IN STEEP DSCNT IN EXCESS OF 266 KTS. METALLURGICAL EXAM OF WINGS & STA- BILIZERS REVEALED FEATURES TYPICAL OF OVERSTRESS SEPN; NO PREEXISTING CRACKS OR DEFECTS WERE FND. THE ACFT WAS RECENTLY PURCHASED. PLT'S SON INDCD PRINCIPAL PRBLM WAS 'TWENTY YEAR LEAP IN TECHNOLOGY' FM PREVIOUSLY OWNED PA-24, THAT PLT HAD DIFFICULTY WITH AVIONICS & FLT DRCTR/AUTOPLT, & THAT HE LACKED DETAIL TRNG IN AUTOPLT EMERGENCIES. (SEE:NTSB/SIR-92/03)
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,155 hours in all; 51 in this make and model; 64 in the last 90 days; 18 in the last 30 days; 8,006 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 62 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 8, 1989; 62 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,318 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PTV Porterville CA at 11:35 pm
- Destination: L12 Redlands CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 10 knots
- Sky: overcast at 6,000 ft; scat at 3,700 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:50 pm from BFL, 18 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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 N8888M 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.