# Accident 20000214007449A: Cessna 182L, Coulterville, CA, February 14, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: February 14, 2000, 09:45 local time - Place: Coulterville, CA - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Normal Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 37.7107° N, 120.1195° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.7107&lon=-120.1195&mi=10 - Aircraft: N3324R, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3324R-2000-08-02) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 182L (registry code 2072726, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182l) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 182L - Reported engine: CONT O470R - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - Pilot flight hours: 1,309 total, 994 in this make and model, 31 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX00FA099](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00FA099) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000214007449A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) N3324R COLLIDED WITH RISING TERRAIN APPROXIMATELY 3 MILES WEST OF COULTERVILLE, CA. LOCAL RESIDENTS REPORTED THAT THE WEATHER AT THE TIME OF TH E ACCIDENT WAS LOW CLOUD CEILINGS WITH MOUNTAINS ABSCURED AND RAIN. THE PILOT AND PASSENGERS INJURIES WERE FATAL. THERE WAS NO FIRE. THE AIRCRAFT DID NOT CAUSE ANY PROPERTY DAMAGE. (.4)ON FEBRUARY 14, 2000, ABOUT 0945 HOURS PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 182L, N3324R, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT IMPACTED MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN 3 MILES NORTHWEST OF COULTERVILLE, CALIFORNIA. THE INSTRUMENT RATED PRIVATE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS OPERATED BY THE PILOT UNDER 14 CFR PART 91 AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT MERCED, 33 MILES SOUTH OF THE ACCIDENT LOCATION. THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED FROM THE FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, YOSEMITE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AT 0832, DESTINED FOR RED BLUFF, CALIFORNIA. THREE RESIDENTS IN THE AREA OF THE ACCIDENT, WHO WERE PRESENT ON THE MORNING OF THE ACCIDENT, REPORTED THAT, UNTIL NOON, THE MOUNTAINS WERE OBSCURED IN CLOUDS WITH POOR VISIBILITY, AND THERE WERE INTERMITTENT PERIODS OF INTENSE RAINFALL. A SEAR CH WAS INITIATED FOR AN UNKNOWN AIRCRAFT ON THE AFTERNOON OF FEBRUARY 14, IN RESPONSE TO RECEPTION OF AN EMERGENCY LOCATOR TRANSMITTER BROADCAST. THE AIRCRAFT WAS LOCATED AT 0650 ON FEBRUARY 15, 2000. ACCORDING TO A RELATIVE, THE PILOT AND HIS WIFE SPENT THE NIGHT PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT AT THEIR (THE RELATIVE'S) HOME IN FRESNO. THE PILOT AND HIS WIFE ARRIVED IN FRESNO SUNDAY AFTERNOON EN ROUTE FROM LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA, TO THEIR SECOND HOME IN WHIDBEY ISLAND, WASHINGTON. IT WAS RAINING ON THEIR ARRIVAL AT FRESNO AND THEY STOPPED THERE FOR THE NIGHT DUE TO UNFAVORABLE WEATHER. THE PILOT CHECKED THE WEATHER FROM THE RELATIVE'S HOME ON MONDAY MORNING BEFORE DEPARTURE. HE SAID HE WAS GOING TO GO VFR BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANT TO GO HIGH DUE TO ICING, AND BY STAYING LOW HE COULD CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE WEATHER. THE PILOT SAID THEY WOULD LAND AT REDDING OR RED BLUFF (CALIFORNIA) AND CHECK THE WEATHER AGAIN FROM THERE. THE RELATIVE WAS NOT CERTAIN OF THE ROUTE THE PILOT PLANNED TO REDDING/RED BLUFF BUT SAID THAT THE PILOT WAS A "GREAT BELIEVER IN GPS." HE OBSERVED THEM TAKEOFF TO THE SOUTHEAST FROM FRESNO AND TURN OUT TO THE EAST. HE THOUGHT THE PILOT MIGHT HAVE PUT REDDING IN THE GPS AND GONE DIRECT. HE ALSO SAID THE PILOT WAS WELL RESTED AND HAD NO HEALTH ISSUES HE WAS AWARE OF. THE PILOT HAD MADE THE TRIP BETWEEN LONG BEACH AND WHIDBEY ISLAND MANY TIMES. ## 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 LAX00FA099](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00FA099), Feb 14, 2000: Cessna 182L (N3324R), Coulterville, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's attempted flight into known adverse weather after receiving hazardous weather advisories, which resulted in inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions while attempting… 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.