# Accident 20030808018629A: Cessna 340A, Bishop, CA, August 8, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 8, 2003, 21:32 local time
- Place: Bishop, CA
- Airport: Bishop Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Climb
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.3775° N, 118.3636° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.3775&lon=-118.3636&mi=10
- Aircraft: N340DC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N340DC-2003-11-19) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 340A (registry code 2076405, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-340a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental TSIO-520 series (registry code 17040, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 340A
- Reported engine: CONT TSIO520*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 1,450 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX03FA254](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03FA254) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030808018629A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON AUGUST 8, 2003, AT 2132 PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 340A, N340DC, COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN AFTER DEPARTING RUNWAY 12 AT (BIH) BISHOP, CA AIRPORT. WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE VMC. WITNESSES REPORTED WATCHING THE AIRCRAFT DEPART ON RUNWAY 12, ROTATE AND CLIMB TO ABOUT 200-300 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL. THE AIRPLANE INITIATED A LEFT TURN AND ROLLED TO WHAT APPEARED TO BE WINGS VERTICAL ATTITUDE. AT THIS POINT THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED INTO THE TERRAIN. POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED THE LANDING GEARS TO BE IN THE DOWN POSITION AT THE TIME OF IMPACT. THE IMPACT SITE WAS APPROXIMATELY .68 NAUTICAL MILES EAST OF THE AIRPORT. SEE ATTACHED NTSB PRELIMINARY REPORT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

## 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 LAX03FA254](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03FA254), Aug 9, 2003: Cessna 340A (N340DC), Bishop, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's in-flight loss of control due to a Somatogravic illusion and/or spatial disorientation. Factors in the accident were the dark lighting conditions and the pilot's lack of familiarity with…

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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