# Accident 20030223002729A: Cessna 310, Palmdale, CA, February 23, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 23, 2003, 18:00 local time
- Place: Palmdale, CA
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.7461° N, 118.2206° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.7461&lon=-118.2206&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5202A, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5202A-2018-01-04) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 310 (registry code 2074202, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental O-470 series (registry code 17026, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 310
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX03LA096](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03LA096) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030223002729A

## Narrative

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

(.19) ON FEBRUARY 23, 2003, AT 1800 PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 310, N5202A, COLLIDED WITH POWER LINES NEAR PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA. FOLLOWING THE WIRE COLLISION, THE PILOT DIVERTED TO AND MADE A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING AT WILLIAM J. FOX AIRFIELD (WJF), LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA. THE PILOT/OWNER WAS OPERATING THE AIRPLANE UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91 FOR THE PERSONAL CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT. THE PRIVATE PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, WAS NOT INJURED. THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. DAY VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS EXISTED DURING THE FLIGHT AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT HENDERSON AIRPORT (HND), HENDERSON, NEVADA, ABOUT 1700, AND WAS SCHEDULED TO TERMINATE AT WHITEMAN AIRPORT (WHP), LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. THE PILOT STATED IN A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW THAT DURING THE FLIGHT HE DESCENDED BELOW A CLOUD LAYER NEAR PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA. HE WAS IN VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE GROUND, WHEN THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED POWER LINES. AFTER THE COLLISION HE MADE A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING AT WJF. THE PILOT SAID HE HAD FLOWN FROM HND TO WHP MANY TIMES IN THE PAST AND THAT THE POWER LINES HE IMPACTED WERE UNMARKED. HE ALSO STATED THAT THE SUN HAD SET ABOUT 20 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE COLLISION. THIS ACCIDENT WAS UPGRADED FROM AN INCIDENT ON FEBRUARY 24, 2003, AFTER POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION BY THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION INSPECTOR.

## 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 LAX03LA096](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03LA096), Feb 24, 2003: Cessna 310 (N5202A), Palmdale, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate terrain/obstacle clearance altitude. Factors in the accident were the low ceilings and the dusk light illumination.

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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