- Date
- July 7, 1985, 19:17 local (Jul 8, 1985, 02:17 UTC)
- Place
- Bakersfield, CA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N81PWPolliwagen Unknown
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850707075079A
- Case key
- 24520
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
On July 7, 1985, at 1917 PDT, a polliwagen, N81PW, collided with the ground during an attempted go around at bakersfieldairpark, Bakersfield, California, while on a personal flight. VMC prevailed at the time; no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was destroyed. The private pilot and his passenger received fatal injuries. The flight originated at fresno, California, at about 1800 PDT. A witness stated that the aircraft made a normal approach to runway 30 and when it was 10 to 15 feet above the ground, the pilot added power to make a go around. The aircraft reportedly climbed to about 100 to 150 feet AGL. The witness lost sight of the aircraft at that time but stated that he heard the engine backfire 2 or 3 times and then heard the impact. The aircraft came to rest adjacent to an FAA hangar. There was no damage to the aircraft inside the hangar. However, the aircraft burned and a dempsey dumspster and an unoccupied parked automobile were damaged by fire.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N81PW
- Reported as
- Polliwagen Unknown
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 0003
- Airframe hours
- 317
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-C, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Polliwagen, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 19, 1985 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- FAT · Fresno, CA
- Destination
- L86 · Murrieta, CA
- Airport
- L45 · Bakers Field Airpark, runway 31, 3,150 × 50 ft, macadam
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 54
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,432 total · 39 in this make and model · 827 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BFL, 7 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.