# Accident 19990205001029A: Cessna 150J, Mariposa, CA, February 5, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: February 5, 1999, 20:16 local time - Place: Mariposa, CA - Airport: Mariposa-Yosemite Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 37.4892° N, 120.0007° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.4892&lon=-120.0007&mi=10 - Aircraft: N50878, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N50878-2000-07-31) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 150J (registry code 2071820, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150j) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 150J - Reported engine: CONT O200A - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 210 total, 210 in this make and model, 13 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99FA091](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99FA091) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990205001029A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) ON 2/6/99 N50878 A CESSNA 150J SER. NUMBER 15069617 WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT CONTACTED TREES 1.3 MILES SOUTH OF THE MARIPOSA-YOSEMITE AIRPORT (068). THE PILOT RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. THE ON SCENE INVESTIGATION SHOWN N50878 HAD DESCENDED INTO THE OAK TREES ON APPROACH TO THE AIRPORT. UPON CONTACT WITH THE FIRST TREE THE AIRCRAFT LOST 50% OF ITS LEFT WING LEAVING WRECKAGE HANGING IN THIS TREE. THE RIGHT HAND WING REMAINED WITH THE AIRCRAFT WHEN IT TURNED INVERTED AND CONTACTED THE TOP RUNG OF A STOCK CORRAL WHICH WAS CONSTRUCTED OF 2" DIA. STEEL PIPE BENDING THIS PIPE OUTWARD JUST PRIOR TO CONTACTING THE GROUND WITH THE TOP PART OF THE AIRCRAFT CABIN. THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE SLID APPROXIMATELY 170' FOLLOWING THE INITIAL CONTACT WITH THE FIRST TREE BEFORE IT CONTINUED TO A SECOND TREE COMING TO REST AT THE "Y" BASE OF THIS TREE. THE EMERGENCY LOCATOR TRANSMITTER (ELT) BEGAN TO OPERATE FOLLOWING THIS ACCIDENT ON 2/5/99 AT 2215 PST. THE ELT WAS DEACTIVATED ON 2/6/99 1210 PST. WHICH WAS CONFIRMED BY THE CIVIL AIR PATROL (CAP) (.19) ON FEBRUARY 5, 199, BETWEEN 2016 AND 2124 HOURS PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 150J, N50878, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN APPROACHING THE UNCONTROLLED MARIPOSA-YOSEMITE AIRPORT, MARIPOSA, CALIFORNIA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED DURING THE DARK NIGHTTIME, PERSONAL FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR 91, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED, AND THE PRIVATE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE UNCONTROLLED CASTLE AIRPORT IN ATWATER, CALIFORNIA, AT AN UNDERTERMINED TIME AFTER 1945. THE PILOT'S WIFE REPORTED THAT SHE HAD SPOKEN WITH HER HUSBAND VIA TELEPHONE EARLIER DURING THE EVENING, AND HE PLANNED TO FLY FROM HIS TEMPORARY ATWATER RESIDENCE TO THEIR MARIPOSA HOME. THE WIFE INDICATED THAT HER HUSBAND WAS EMOTIONALLY UPSET. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CASTLE AND MARIPOSA AIRPORTS IS ABOUT 26 NAUTICAL MILES. BETWEEN 2010 AND 2015, A PILOT FLYING IN A CESSNA 182 DEPARTED FROM THE MARIPOSA AIRPORT. THE PILOT SUBSEQUENTLY REPORTED TO THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD THAT DURING HIS DEPARTURE HE HEARD THE ACCIDENT PILOT, WHOSE VOICE HE RECOGNIZED, MAKE SEVERAL RADIO CALLS ON THE LOCAL UNICOM FREQUENCY. THE ACCIDENT PILOT INDICATED THAT HE WAS APPROACHING THE FIELD FOR LANDING AND WAS ENTERING THE DOWNWIND LEG. MINUTES LATER, THE ACCIDENT PILOT REPORTED THAT HE WAS TURNING ONTO A LEFT BASE LEG FOR RUNWAY 26. NO ADDITIONAL RADIO COMMUNICATIONS WERE REPORTED FROM THE ACCIDENT PILOT. ACCORDING TO THE U.S. AIR FORCE RESCUE COORDINATION CENTER (AFRCC), AT 2124 IN THE VICINITY OF THE ACCIDENT SITE, THE SIGNAL FROM AN EMERGENCY LOCATOR TRANSMITTER (ELT), WAS FIRST DETECTED BY A PASSING SATELLITE. THE SAFETY BOARD'S EXAMINATION OF THE ACCIDENT SITE AND WRECKAGE REVEALED THE OUTBOARD PORTION OF THE SEVERED LEFT WING WAS SUSPENDED FROM TREE BRANCHES AT THE INITIAL POINT OF IMPACT (IPI). THE MAIN WRECKAGE WAS FOUND WRAPPED AROUND THE BASE OF A TREE ABOUT 222 FEET AND 314 DEGREES (MAGNETIC) FROM THE IPI. EVIDENCE OF A LOCALIZED GROUND FIRE WAS OBSERVED IN THE VICINITY OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND THE TREE TRUNK. FUEL WAS OBSERVED IN THE AIRPLANE'S CARBURETOR BOWL AND WING TANKS. (.4) HISTORY OF FLIGHT: ON FEBRUARY 5, 1999, BETWEEN 2016 AND 2124 HOURS PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 150J, N50878, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, COLLIDED WITH TREES AND TERRAIN APPROACHING THE UNCONTROLLED MARIPOSA-YOSEMITE AIRPORT, MARIPOSA, CALIFORNIA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED DURING THE DARK NIGHTTIME, PERSONAL FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED, AND THE PRIVATE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT THE CASTLE AIRPORT, MERCED, CALIFORNIA, AT AN UNCERTAIN TIME. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CASTLE AND MARIPOSA AIRPORTS IS ABOUT 26 NAUTICAL MILES. FOR THE PURPOSES OF DATA ENTRY IN THIS ACCIDENT REPORT, THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD INVESTIGATOR ESTIMATED THE AIRPLANE'S DEPARTURE TIME AT 1945. THE PILOT'S WIFE REPORTED TO THE SAFETY BOARD INVESTIGATOR THAT DURING THE EVENING OF FEBRUARY 5, SHE HAD SPOKEN WITH HER HUSBAND VIA TELEPHONE. THE PILOT HAD INDICATED THAT THE FOLLOWING DAY (WHICH WAS HIS BIRTHDAY) HE PLANNED TO FLY FROM HIS TEMPORARY ATWATER RESIDENCE TO THEIR MARIPOSA HOME. THE WIFE INDICATED THAT HER HUSBAND WAS EMOTIONALLY UPSET, AND DURING A SUBSEQUENT CONVERSATION WITH HIM HE INDICATED HIS INTENTION TO IMMEDIATELY FLY HOME. THE PILOT'S ROUTE OF FLIGHT BETWEEN CASTLE AND MARIPOSA WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE FIRST REPORTED CONTACT WITH THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE OCCURRED BETWEEN 2010 AND 2015. DURING THIS TIME PERIOD, A PILOT FLYING IN A CESSNA 182 DEPARTED FROM THE MARIPOSA AIRPORT. THE PILOT OF THIS AIRPLANE SUBSEQUENTLY REPORTED TO THE SAF ETY BOARD INVESTIGATOR THAT DURING HIS DEPARTURE HE HEARD THE ACCIDENT PILOT, WHOSE VOICE HE RECOGNIZED, MAKE SEVERAL RADIO CALLS ON THE AIRPORT'S LOCAL UNICOM FREQUENCY. THE ACCIDENT PILOT INDICATED THAT HE WAS APPROACHING THE FIELD FOR LANDING AND WAS ENTERING THE DOWNWIND LEG. MINUTES LATER, THE ACCIDENT PILOT REPORTED THAT HE WAS TURNING ONTO A LEFT BASE LEG FOR RUNWAY 26. THIS WAS THE LAST COMMUNICATION HEARD BY THE PILOT FLYING THE CESSNA 182. ACCORDING TO THE U.S. AIR FORCE RESCUE COORDINATION CENTER (AFRCC) AT 2124, IN THE VICINITY OF THE ACCIDENT SITE, A PASSING SATELLITE FIRST DETECTED THE SIGNAL FROM AN EMERGENCY LOCATOR TRANSMITTER (ELT). ## 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 LAX99FA091](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99FA091), Feb 6, 1999: Cessna 150J (N50878), Mariposa, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's premature descent into terrain during a dark nighttime approach. Also causal was his physiological impairment due to alcohol. A contributing factor was his psychological condition. ## Other reports on N50878 (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 19800316006909A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19800316006909A), Mar 16, 1980: Cessna 150J (N50878), San Jose, CA, Substantial damage. Hand-propped engine. Passenger opened throttle. When engine started, aircraft ran into a parked aircraft. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.