- Date
- February 19, 1989, 12:10 local (20:10 UTC)
- Place
- Corona, CA
- Injuries
- 10 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N69383Cessna 402B
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 1, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- FAA report
- 19890219002179A
- Case key
- 15915
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to properly preflight and plan for flight and his intentional flight into IMC conditions. Factors contributing to the accident were the low ceiling conditions in conjunction with the mountainous terrain.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The plt was operating an on-demand air taxi passenger flt to santa ana, CA. The acdt occurred drg descent, when the acft collided with a mtn at 2060 ft MSL. The plt had rcvd a preflt wx briefing in which he was advised of low ceilings and reduced vis in the los angeles basin, surrounding mtns obscured by clouds, and that VFR flt to santa ana was not recommended. He departed VFR. While en route, the plt was advised that santa ana was reporting 1400 ft ovcst with 5 miles vis. A videotape recorded by a passenger showed mtn peaks protruding through a solid cloud layer and showed the acft descending into the clouds. Witnesses described a low cloud ceiling nr the crash site and cloud tops at 5000 ft. examination of the wreckage revealed evidence of powered flt and no evidence of preimpact control or engine malfunction. Records indicated that the plt had encountered IMC on only 1 flt in the previous 9 mos. He was dir of opns for the operator.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N69383
- Reported as
- Cessna 402B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 402B-0527
- Airframe hours
- 3,129
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-E5B, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Las Vegas Flyers, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 18, 1989
- Departed
- LAS · Las Vegas, NV
- Destination
- SNA · Santa Ana, CA
- Flight plan
- VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 34
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 4,000 total · 572 in this make and model · 3,870 as pilot in command · 41 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.