# Accident 20000829014379A: Cessna 150L, Laton, CA, August 29, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 29, 2000, 17:22 local time
- Place: Laton, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.4294° N, 119.6907° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.4294&lon=-119.6907&mi=10
- Aircraft: N11919, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N11919-2000-10-27) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 150L (registry code 2071826, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150l) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 150L
- Reported engine: CONT O200A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 1,200 total, 22 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX00FA319](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00FA319) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000829014379A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON 8/29/00, 1722 HOURS PDT, A CESSNA 150L, N11919, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN WHILE MANUEVERING NEAR LATON, CA. THE PRIVATE PILOT/OWNER WAS OPERATING THE AIRPLANE UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91. THE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. THE LOCAL AREA PERSONAL FLIGHT DEPARTED FROM A PRIVATE STRIP ON THE PILOT'S FARM IN HANFORD, CA. AT AN UNKNOWN TIME. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. WITNESSES REPORTED THE PILOT FLEW OVER THEIR HOME AT AN ESTIMATED 300 FEET AGL AND WAS COMPLETING 360 DEGREE TURNS. THE AIRPLANE WAS CONTINUING TO MAKE A LEFT TURN, AND MOMENTARILY LEVELED OUT, THEN BANKED LEFT AND BEGAN TO TURN LEFT AGAIN. THE BANK ANGLE CONTINUED TO RAPIDLY INCREASE AND THE WITNESSES OBSERVED THE TOP OF THE AIRPLANES WINGS. THEY SIMULTANEOUSLY OBSERVED A RAPID MOVEMENT OF THE NOSE TO A NEARLY VERTICAL NOSE DOWN POSITION AS THE BANK ANGLE INCREASED. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST IN A WALNUT GROVE LESS THAN 0.1 MILE FROM THE WITNESSES HOME. (.4) THE AIRPLANE SPIRALED INTO A WALNUT GROVE NEAR A FRIEND'S HOME. THE PILOT FREQUENTLY FLEW OVER HIS FRIEND'S HOME AT LOW ALTITUDE. AS HE FLEW BY T     HE NORTH SIDE OF THE HOME IN A LEFT TURN AT AN ESTIMATED 300 FEET AGL, HE OPENED THE WINDOW AND SAID, "HELLO." HIS FRIEND ON THE GROUND INVITED HIM TO COME VISIT AFTER HIS FLIGHT AND HE RESPONDED, "WE WILL." THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED THE LEFT TURN, MOMENTARILY LEVELED OUT, THEN BANKED LEFT AND BEGAN TO TURN LEFT AGAIN. BY THIS POINT THE AIRPLANE HAD COMPLETED 270 DEGREES OF TURN. THIS TURN INITIALLY APPEARED TO BE LIKE THE OTHERS THE WITNESSES PREVIOUSLY OBSERVED; HOWEVER, THIS TIME THE BANK ANGLE CONTINUED TO RAPIDLY INCREASE SO THAT THEY OBSERVED THE TOPS OF THE AIRPLANE'S WINGS. THEY OBSERVED A SIMULTANEOUS RAPID MOVEMENT OF THE NOSE TO A NEARLY VERTICAL NOSE DOWN POSITION. INVESTIGATORS DISCOVERED NO DISCREPANCIES THAT WOULD HAVE PRECLUDED NORMAL OPERATION OF THE AIRPLANE OR ENGINE.

## 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 LAX00FA319](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00FA319), Aug 30, 2000: Cessna 150L (N11919), Laton, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: failure of the pilot to maintain an adequate airspeed while maneuvering, resulting in a stall at an altitude too low to allow recovery.

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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