# Accident 20090220004019A: Cessna 172N, Big Bear, CA, February 20, 2009

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 20, 2009, 13:31 local time
- Place: Big Bear, CA
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Other, Specify
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.2417° N, 117.0153° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.2417&lon=-117.0153&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6443E, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6443E-2013-04-29) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172N (registry code 2072434, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172N
- Reported engine: LYC O320H2AD
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 260 total, 70 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR09LA122](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR09LA122) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090220004019A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON 02/20/2009 AT APPROXIMATELY 11:15 HOURS PST THE PILOT AND AIRPLANE DEPARTED SAN BERNARDIO AIRPORT (SBD) ON A PERSONAL/PLEASURE FLIGHT WITH ONE PASSENGER.  AFTER DEPARTING SBD THE PILOT FLEW EAST OF THE REDLANDS AIRPORT (REA) AND PROCEEDED TO PRACTICE COMMERCIAL AIRPLANE MANEUVERS (EIGHTS ON PYLONS) IN PREPARATION FOR HIS COMMERCIAL PILOT CERTIFICATE.  THE PILOT STATED HE LEANED THE ENGINE MIXTURE CONTROL SHORTLY AFTER DEPARTURE FROM SBD.  THE PILOT STATED HE CLIMBED TO AN ALTITUDE OF APPROXIMATELY 6,000 FEET MSL WHILE PRACTICING MORE COMMERCIAL MANEUVERS 9(CHANNELS AND LAZY EIGHTS).  THE PILOT STATED HE THEN DECIDED TO FLY UP TO BIG BEAR AIRPORT (L35) BY ROUTE OF OVER FLYING THE DAM AND THEN INTO THE BIG BEAR AIRPORT.  THE PILOT STATED THE PLANE WAS NOT CLIMBING WELL AND THROUGH THE ENGINE MIGHT BE EXPERIENCING CARBURETOR ICE AND DECIDED TO APPLY CARBURETOR HEAT.  THE PILOT STATED THERE WAS A SLIGHT DECREASE IN ENGINE RPM AND THE PILOT REALIZED THAT CARBURETOR ICE WAS NOT AN ISSUE AND TURNED OFF THE CARBURETOR HEAT.  THE PILOTED STATED THE PLANET WAS NOT CLIMBING AND CONTINUED FURTHER UP INTO A BOX CANYON IN AN AREA WEST OF THE BIG BEAR DAM.  THE PILOT STATED HE DID NOT THINK HE HAD ENOUGH ROOM TO TURN THE AIRPLANE AND THE TERRAIN WAS APPROACHING.  THE PILOT STALLED THE AIRCRAFT INTO A TREE AND THEN IT IMPACTED THE TERRAIN IN A NORTHWESTERLY DIRECTION AT APPROXIMATELY 12:00 HOURS PST.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED, THE PILOT REPORTED NO INJURIES, AND THE PASSENGER REPORTED A SORE RIGHT ELBOW.  THE PASSENGERS CONTACTED AN UNKNOWN INDIVIDUAL AT THE SBD AND THAT INDIVIDUAL CONTACTED THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT AT 13:31 HOURS PST.  THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTRY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT DISPTACHED A SHERIFF'S HELICOPTER TO RESCUE THE PILOT AND PASSENGER.  THE PILOT WAS INTERVIEWED BY THE RIVERSIDE FLIGHT STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE ON 02/26/2009.

## 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 WPR09LA122](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR09LA122), Feb 20, 2009: Cessna 172N (N6443E), Big Bear Lake, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from terrain while maneuvering in a ravine. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to continue flight in an area that exceeded the climb rate…

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.