# Accident 20100118026199A: Cessna 340, Lydle Creek, CA, January 18, 2010

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 18, 2010, 15:07 local time
- Place: Lydle Creek, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.2072° N, 117.4331° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.2072&lon=-117.4331&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2217B, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2217B-2010-10-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 340 (registry code 2076404, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-340) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: TCM Cont TSIO-520 series (registry code 17060, https://openairdocs.org/engine/tcm-cont-tsio-520-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 340
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR TSIO 520SER
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 2,000 total, 0 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR10FA116](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR10FA116) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20100118026199A

## Narrative

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

ON 01/18/2010 AT APPROXIMATELY 2103 ZULU TIME A CESSNA 340, N2217B, DEPARTED HENDERSON AIRPORT (HND), HENDERSON, NV ENROUTE TO COMPTON AIRPORT (CPM), COMPTON, CA.  THE CESSNA 340, N2217B, WAS OWNED AND PILOTED BY A PRIVATE PILOT WITH AIRPLANE SINGLE AND MULTIENGINE LAND RATINGS, THE PILOT DID NOT HAVE AN INSTRUMENT RATING.  THERE WAS ONE FEMALE PASSENGER ON BOARD.  THE PASSENGER WAS NOT A PILOT.  NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED.  THE FLIGHT CONTINUED FROM HENDERSON, NV INTO CALIFORNIA, THE WEATHER IN CALIFORNIA WAS REPORTED FOR INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC) THROUGHOUT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.  THE FREEZING LEVEL WAS REPORTED TO START AT 6000 FEET.  THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAIN WERE PREDICTED FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK STARTING EARLY MONDAY MORNING ON 01/18/2010.  THE AIRCRAFT ENTERED IMC CONDITIONS AT AN UNKNOWN LOCATION.  THE CESSNA  WAS SEEN BY SEVERAL WITNESSES ALONG THE I-15 FREEWAY NORTH OF THE I-10 (SAN BERNARDINO) FREEWAY EXITING OUT OF THE BOTTOM OF THE CLOUD LAYER AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED AND REPORTED TO BE FLYING ERRATICALLY AND MAKING VERY STEEP TURNS AT APPROXIMATELY 300 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND.  SEVERAL WITNESSES REPORTED THE AIRCRAFT RE-ENTERED THE CLOUDS AND THE WITNESSES REPORTED THEY LOST VISUAL SIGHT OF THE AIRCRAFT AFTER IT ENTERED THE CLOUDS.  SOCAL TRACON (AIR-TRAFFIC CONTROL) OBSERVED THE VFR TARGET BUT DID NOT HAVE COMMUNICATION WITH THE AIRCRAFT.  SOCAL TRACON WAS NOT PROVIDING SERVICES TO THE VFR TARGET.   SOCAL TRACON REPORTED A VFR TARGET FLYING ERRATICALLY, CLIMBING, DESCENDING, AND MAKING DRAMATIC TURNS, NOT NORMALLY USED IN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT.  ATC REPORTED THE TARGET IN A STEEP SPIRAL AND DESCENDING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED IN THE VICINITY OF LYDLE CREEK, CA. SOCAL TRACON LOST RADAR CONTACT ON THE TARGET AT APPROXIMATELY 1507 PST (2307 ZULU).  THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE TERRAIN IN THE LYDLE CREEK, CALIFORNIA AREA.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED AND THE PILOT AND SINGLE PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED.

## 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 WPR10FA116](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR10FA116), Jan 18, 2010: Cessna 340 (N2217B), Lytle Creek, CA, substantial damage, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s loss of situational awareness while maneuvering under a cloud layer and failure to maintain sufficient clearance from mountainous terrain.

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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