# Accident 19980424028179A: Cessna 172P, Ramona, CA, April 24, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 24, 1998, 15:15 local time
- Place: Ramona, CA
- Airport: Ramona Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.0693° N, 116.8310° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.0693&lon=-116.8310&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8364L, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8364L-1998-12-22) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172I (registry code 2072426, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172i) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172P
- Reported engine: LYC O320E2D
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 786 total, 30 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX98FA141](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98FA141) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980424028179A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(.19) ON APRIL 24, 1998, AT 1515 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 172, N8364L, PITCHED DOWN AND IMPACTED TERRAIN WHILE ON LANDING APPROACH AT THE RAMONA, CALIFORNIA, AIRPORT. THE COMMERCIAL LICENSED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR AND THE UNLICENSED STUDENT PILOT WERE FATALLY INJURED AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT WHICH WAS PERFORMING TOUCH-AND-GO LANDINGS. SEVERAL PILOTS WITNESSED THE ACCIDENT AND REPORTED THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS ON A STABILIZED APPROACH TO RUNWAY 27 AT APPROXIMATELY 300 FEET AGL, WHEN THE NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT ABRUPTLY PITCHED DOWN. IN 2 OR 3 SECONDS, THE AIRCRAFT ACHIEVED A NEAR-VERTICAL, NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE WHICH CONTINUED TO IMPACT. (.4) WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS ON A STABILIZED FINAL APPROACH APPROXIMATELY 300 FEET AGL WHEN IT ABRUPTLY AND WITHOUT WARNING PERFORMED A WINGS LEVEL PITCHOVER AND DOVE VERTICALLY TO THE GROUND. ALL WITNESSES AGREED THAT THE AIRCRAFT DID NOT STALL AND THAT IT WAS NOT IN A SLIP MANEUVER PRIOR TO THE PITCHOVER. A WITNESS WHO WAS CLOSEST TO THE SCENE WAS EMPHATIC THAT HE OBSERVED THE ELEVATOR CONTROL DEFLECTED NOSE DOWN AS THE AIRCRAFT PITCHED OVER AND THAT THEELEVATOR REMAINED IN THAT POSITION UNTIL IMPACT. THE INVESTIGATION DID NOT REVEAL ANY EVIDENCE OF A PREIMPACT MECHANICAL FAILURE OF THE AIRCRAFT. (-23) DURING APPROACH FOR LANDING, THE AIRCRAFT ABRUPTLY PITCHED NOSE DOWN FROM ABOUT 200 FEET AGL AND IMPACTED ABOUT 500 FEET SHORT OF THE RUNWAY. THE COMMERCIAL LICENSED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENT PILOT WERE FATALLY INJURED AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED. THERE WERE NO CONDITIONS DISCOVERED TO INDICATE THAT THERE WAS ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE AIRCRAFT. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED SLIGHTLY PAST VERTICAL AND SLIGHTLY RIGHT WING LOW.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB LAX98FA141](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98FA141), Apr 24, 1998: Cessna 172 (N8364L), Ramona, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The loss of control of the aircraft on final approach for undetermined reasons.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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