# Accident 20050928022409A: Cessna 150L, Taft, CA, September 28, 2005

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 28, 2005
- Place: Taft, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unknown/Not Reported
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.1272° N, 119.5561° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.1272&lon=-119.5561&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1238Q, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1238Q-2007-06-29) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 150L (registry code 2071826, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150l) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental 0-200 series (registry code 17020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 150L
- Reported engine: CONT O200A
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 10,000 total, 5,000 in this make and model, 420 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX05LA321](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX05LA321) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050928022409A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON 9/28/2005, THE PILOT WAS SCHEDULED FOR AERIAL PATROL DUTIES ALONG SR 33 FROM TAFT, CA APPROX 40 MILES TO THE NORTHWEST. THE AIRCRAFT DID NOT RETURN FROM THIS MISSION AND WAS REPORTED MISSING ON 9/29/2005. THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED AT 1840PDT ON 9/29/2005 ALONG THE SIDE OF A STEEP RAVINE APPROXIMATELY 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF TAFT AND 2 MILES WEST OF HIS PATROL ROUTE. THE AIRCRAFT APPEARED TO HAVE FLOWN INTO STEEP/SLOPING TERRAIN UNDER CONTROL AND THEN STRUCK A SMALL BERM CAUSING IT TO FLIP INVERTED AND COME TO A STOP APPROXIMATELY 300 FEET FROM FIRST POINT OF IMPACT. THE PILOT WHO WAS NOT WEARING A SEATBELT WAS EJECTED AND SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES. THE ENGINE MOUNTS FRACTURED AND THE ENGINE WAS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET DOWN THE SLOPE FROM THE MAIN WRECKAGE. INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THERE WAS FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY, NO IMMEDIATE EVIDENCE OF ENGINE MALFUNCTION; ADEQUATE FUEL SUPPLY. THE APPARENT FLIGHT PATH OF THE AIRCRAFT INDICATED THAT IT WAS DELIBERATELY FLOWN UP THE RAVINE AND BELOW THE RIDGE LINE. THE COMPANY MANAGER/SPOKESMAN INFORMED INVESTIGATORS THAT THERE WAS NO REASON FOR THE AIRCRAFT TO BE IN THAT LOCATION.

## 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 LAX05LA321](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX05LA321), Sep 28, 2005: Cessna 150 (N1238Q), Taft, CA, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain terrain clearance while maneuvering. The mountainous terrain was a factor.

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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