# Accident 20001212038579A: Cessna 182P, Lancaster, CA, December 12, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 12, 2000, 10:01 local time
- Place: Lancaster, CA
- Airport: Gen Wm J Fox Airfield Airport
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.7267° N, 118.2358° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.7267&lon=-118.2358&mi=10
- Aircraft: N182ER, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N182ER-2001-06-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 182P (registry code 2075816, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182p) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 182P
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX01GA057](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01GA057) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20001212038579A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON DEC. 12, 2000, AT 1000 HOURS PST, A CESSNA 182P, N182ER, DESCENDED INTO FLAT DESERT TERRAIN NEAR THE FOX FIELD AIRPORT, LANCASTER, CA AS THE AIRPLANE WAS MANUEVERING TO ENTER THE TRAFFIC PATTERN. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED AND THE COMMERCIAL PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING OPERATED BY THE CA DEPT. OF JUSTICE AS A PUBLIC USE FLIGHT UNDER 14 CFR PART 91 AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM FRESNO AIRPORT, FRESNO, CA. AT 0852 PST. VMC PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. WITNESSES REPORTED SEEING THE AIRPLANE IN A STEEP, NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE AT A RAPIDLY INCREASING RATE OF DESCENT. THE AIRPLANE MAINTAINED A PERPENDICULAR, NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE UNTIL THEY LOST SIGHTOF THE AIRPLANE BEHIND LOW SCRUB BRUSH. INSPECTION OF THE CRASH SITE REVEALED ALL FLIGHT CONTROL SURFACES, WINGS, AND EMPENNAGE AND ALL HAD EXPERIENCED FORE TO AFT ACCORDION CRUSHING. A PILOT WHO WAS DEPARTING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF THE APPROACHING AIRPLANE REPORTED THAT CONDITIONS WERE "BUMPY" BUT NOT BAD".

## 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 LAX01GA057](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01GA057), Dec 12, 2000: Cessna 182P (N182ER), Lancaster, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's in-flight loss of control 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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