# Accident 20000421005629A: Beech D35, Agua Dulce, CA, April 21, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 21, 2000, 20:03 local time
- Place: Agua Dulce, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.4292° N, 118.5105° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.4292&lon=-118.5105&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2086D, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2086D-2000-09-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Beech D35 (registry code 1151510, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-d35) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BEECH D35
- Reported engine: CONT E2258
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 2,072 total, 78 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX00FA168](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00FA168) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000421005629A

## Narrative

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

(-23) AIRCRAFT DEPARTED SANTA PAULA AIRPORT (SZP) AT DUSK, (APPROX. 1945 HRS) ON 4/21/00, FLYING TO CHANDLER, AZ. AT APPRO 2000 HRS, ON 4/21/00, AIRCRAFT CONTACTED AND SKIMMED AN UPSLOPING MOUNTAIN RIDGE, APPROX 1 MILE NORTH WEST OF ESCONDIDO CANYON RD., & .5 MILES NORHT OF THE ANTELPOE VALLEY FWY (HWY 14), ELEV APPROX 3000 FT.  AIRCRAFT WAS TORN APART ENGINE, PROPELLER, AND VARIOUS PARTS AND PIECES DEPARTED AIRCRAFT.  AIRCRAFT SKIPPED OFF MOUNTAIN RIDGE, TUNRED INVERTED & IMPACTED NEXT RIDGE WHERW AIRCRAFT CAME TO A STOP.  AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED, AND PILOT WAS FATALY INJURIED.  THE AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT SITE WAS NOT FOUND UNTIL APPROX 0800 HRS. ON 4/22/00, BY OWNER OF PROPERTY.                                                                  (.4) ON A DARK NIGHT, EN ROUTE FROM CALIFORNIA TO ARIZONA, THE PILOT CRUISED INTO RISING TERRAIN IN A MOUNTAIN PASS. THE CRASH SITE, ELEVATION 3,560 FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL), WAS ADJACENT TO AND ABOUT 0.5 MILES NORTH OF A STATE HIGHWAY, ELEVATION 3,000. AN OVERCAST SKY CONDITION EXISTED WITH CLOUD BASES BETWEEN 3,200 AND 3,400 FEET MSL. NO ONE REPORTED WITNESSING THE ACCIDENT. A HILLSIDE RESIDENT LOCATED ABOUT 1/3-MILE DOWNSLOPE FROM THE CRASH S ITE REPORTED THAT, ABOUT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, HIS 3,200-FOOT MSL HOME WAS SHROUDED IN GROUND FOG. THE PILOT WAS INSTRUMENT RATED BUT WAS NOT CURRENT. HIS LAST LOGGED INSTRUMENT FLIGHT WAS 7 YEARS EARLIER. THE FAA REPORTED THAT THE PILOT DID NOT FILE A FLIGHT PLAN, OBTAIN A WEATHER BRIEFING, OR COMMUNICATE WITH ANY FAA FACILITY DURING THE FLIGHT. THE ON-SCENE WRECKAGE EXAMINATION REVEALED THE AIRPLANE INITIALLY IMPACTED UPSLOPING TERRAIN IN A NEAR LEVEL FLIGHT ATTITUDE. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST UPSIDE DOWN ABOUT 750 FEET FROM THE INITIAL POINT OF GROUND IMPACT. NO EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND WITH THE AIRPLANE.

## 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 LAX00FA168](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00FA168), Apr 22, 2000: Beech D35 (N2086D), Agua Dulce, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain terrain clearance while cruising up a mountain pass, on a dark night, in IMC conditions, and his improper in-flight decision to perform a VFR flight in the inclement…

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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