# Accident 20220618020899A: Cessna 336, Porterville, CA, June 18, 2022

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 18, 2022, 14:55 local time
- Place: Porterville, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.0066° N, 119.0396° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.0066&lon=-119.0396&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3835U, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3835U) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 336 (registry code 2075602, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-336) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental IO-360 series (registry code 17025, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 336
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR IO-360 SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 450 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR22FA216](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR22FA216) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20220618020899A

## Narrative

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

ON JUNE 18, 2022, AT APPROXIMATELY 1455 PDT, THE SUBJECT AIRCRAFT DEPARTED PORTERVILLE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (KPTV) ENROUTE TO SHAFTER AIRPORT-MINTER FIELD (KMIT). THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED TURNING AROUND AND HEADING BACK TOWARDS THE PTV AIRPORT WHEN IT SUDDENLY NOSE-DIVED AND IMPACTED THE SURFACE UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES. THE EYEWITNESS OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT FLYING STRAIGHT AND LEVEL WHEN IT SUDDENLY HEADED TOWARDS THE SURFACE AT A 45-DEGREE DOWNWARD ANGLE. IT DID NOT APPEAR TO THE WITNESS THAT THE PILOT MADE ANY ATTEMPT TO LEVEL OFF. A POST-IMPACT FIRE DESTROYED THE AIRCRAFT AND THE SOLE OCCUPANT ONBOARD THE AIRCRAFT WAS FOUND DECEASED.

## 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 WPR22FA216](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR22FA216), Jun 18, 2022: Cessna 336 (N3835U), Porterville, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: Maintenance personnel’s failure to properly secure the elevator control assembly hardware, which resulted in an in-flight disconnection of the elevator and elevator counterweight and the pilot’s…

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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