# Accident 20010527014309A: Cessna 337G, Temecula, CA, May 27, 2001 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 27, 2001, 12:55 local time - Place: Temecula, CA - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Scud Running - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 33.4936° N, 117.1484° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Temecula, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.4936&lon=-117.1484&mi=10 - Aircraft: N337GD, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N337GD) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 337G (registry code 2075730, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-337g) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental IO-360 series (registry code 17025, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-360-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 337G - Reported engine: CONT IO360* - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 1,907 total, 778 in this make and model, 53 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX01LA205](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA205) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010527014309A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19)ON MAY 27, 2001, AT 1255 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 337G, N337GD, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WHEN IT IMPACTED ELECTRICAL POWER TRANSMISSION WIRES ABOUT 5 MILES SOUTH OF TEMECULA, CALIFORNIA. THE OWNER/PILOT WAS OPERATING THE AIRPLANE UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED. THE PERSONAL CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT DEPARTED BROWN FIELD, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, ABOUT 1235, AND WAS DESTINED FOR THE FRENCH VALLEY AIRPORT, TEMECULA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED. ACCORDING TO A FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION INSPECTOR, THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED POWER TRANSMISSION WIRES APPROXIMATELY 120 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL WHILE OVER INTERSTATE HIGHWAY 15. THE AIRPLANE'S WINDSHIELD WAS BROKEN OUT, DOORPOSTS WERE BENT, AND WING STRUTS WERE DAMAGED. THE PILOT CONTINUED THE FLIGHT TO HIS INTENDED DESTINATION AT FRENCH VALLEY, WHICH WAS THE NEAREST AIRPORT. (-23) ENROUTE FROM SDM (SAN DIEGO, BROWN FIELD AIRPORT), WHILE FLYING AT 120-130 FEET AGL, AIRCRAFT STRUCK ELECTRICAL POWER TRANSMISSION CABLE. THE CABLE WAS SEVERED, THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND CONTINUED T F70 (FRECH VALLEY AIRPORT). INJURIES TO PIC AND ONE PASSENGER ARE UNKNOWN. WITNESS ACCOUNTS OF ACCIDENT LOCATION WEATHER INDICATE SOLID IFR CONDITIONS. NOTE: PIC/OWNER INITIALLY UNCOOPERATIVE IN INVESTIGATION, DENIED OWNING AIRCRAFT, OR FLYING ON THE DATE OF THE ACCIDENT. AS FACTUAL INFORMATION WAS OBTAINED, OWNER CONCEDED THAT HE "HIT SOMETHING", BUT WAS STILL NOT FORTHCOMING WITH INFORMATION, AS HIS ACTIONS SUBJECT OF LEGAL ACTION BY POWER COMPANY. (.4) ON MAY 27, 2001, AT 1255 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 337G, N337GD, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WHEN IT IMPACTED AND SEVERED AN ELECTRICAL POWER TRANSMISSION WIRE ABOUT 5 MILES SOUTH OF TEMECULA, CALIFORNIA. THE OWNER/PILOT WAS OPERATING THE AIRPLANE UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED. THE PERSONAL CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT DEPARTED BROWN FIELD, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, ABOUT 1235, AND WAS DESTINED FOR THE FRENCH VALLEY AIRPORT, TEMECULA. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED. ACCORDING TO A FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION INSPECTOR, THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED POW ER TRANSMISSION WIRES APPROXIMATELY 120 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL, APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES EAST OF INTERSTATE HIGHWAY 15. THE WIRES CROSS THE HIGHWAY ABOUT 9 MILES SOUTH OF THE FRENCH VALLEY AIRPORT. THE TOP (SKYLINE) WIRE WAS MARKED; HOWEVER, THE WIRE THE AIRCRAFT SEVERED WAS LOWER. A PERSON WHO WAS PRESENT IN THE AREA AT THE TIME TOLD THE INSPECTOR THAT CONDITIONS OF LOW CLOUDS AND POOR VISIBILITY PREVAILED. INSPECTION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THE WINDSHIELD WAS BROKEN OUT, THE CABIN CEILING AND A DOORPOST WERE BENT, AND A WING STRUT WAS DAMAGED. THE INSPECTOR LOCATED A GPS ANTENNA SKIN DOUBLER ON THE GROUND NEAR THE SEVERED WIRE. HE WAS ABLE TO MATCH THE PIECE TO DAMAGE ON THE AIRCRAFT. A SEMPRA ENERGY COMPANY EMPLOYEE TOLD THE SAFETY BOARD INVESTIGATOR THAT THE POWER INTERRUPTION OCCURRED AT 1255. IN HIS STATEMENT TO THE SAFETY BOARD, THE PILOT REPORTED HE WAS EN ROUTE FROM BROWN FIELD TO FRENCH VALLEY "IN VFR [VISUAL FLIGHT RULES] CONDITIONS." WHEN APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES SOUTH OF FRENCH VALLEY AND WITH THE AIRPORT IN SIGHT, THERE WAS A LOUD BANG, AFTER WHICH THE WINDSHIELD WAS BROKEN AND THE CABIN CEILING WAS BROKEN OPEN. THE PILOT CONTINUED THE FLIGHT TO HIS INTENDED DESTINATION AT FRENCH VALLEY. THE NEAREST WEATHER REPORTING POINT WAS AT MCAS CAMP PENDLETON (KNFG), 14 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHWEST, AND APPROXIMATELY 1,500 FEET LOWER ELEVATION. AT 1255, THEIR REPORTED WEATHER WAS SCATTERED CLOUDS AT 1,000 FEET AGL AND OVERCAST CEILING AT 1,500 FEET AGL. ## 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 LAX01LA205](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA205), May 27, 2001: Cessna 337G (N337GD), Temecula, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's intentional flight into adverse weather while operating under visual flight rules, his failure to maintain a cruising altitude sufficient to remain clear of power transmission wires, and… 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.