- Date
- September 27, 2017, 02:35 local (09:35 UTC)
- Place
- San Diego, CA
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N9346GCessna 182
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report June 14, 2018
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- Case key
- 96101
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 airplane’s inadvertent entry into instrument meteorological, dark night conditions and the pilot’s failure to maintain an adequate approach for landing.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he took off in dark night conditions and was using flight following. When he arrived at the destination airport, he activated the runway lights while entering the downwind leg. While on final approach, the runway lights suddenly turned off, so he aborted the landing. The pilot again activated the runway lights on the downwind leg, but this time he flew a short base leg to final. The airplane was at a lower altitude for the approach and suddenly entered a heavy band of fog. The left wing subsequently hit the soft dirt, cartwheeled, and then came to rest inverted about 1/4 mile short of the runway. Postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The weather conditions reported at the airport, about the time of the accident, were calm wind, visibility 4 statute miles, moderate mist, clouds scattered 100 ft, temperature 15°C, dew point 15°C, and an altimeter setting 29.24 inches of mercury. The pilot did not submit the National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident /Incident Report Form 6120.1.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he took off in dark night conditions and was using flight following. When he arrived at the destination airport, he activated the runway lights while entering the downwind leg. While on final approach the runway lights suddenly turned off, so he aborted the landing. The pilot again activated the runway lights on the downwind leg, but this time he flew a short base leg to final. The airplane was at a lower altitude for the approach and suddenly entered a heavy band of fog. The left wing subsequently hit the soft dirt, cartwheeled and came to rest inverted about ¼ mile short of runway 26. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The weather conditions reported at the airport, about the time of the accident, was calm wind, visibility 4 statute miles, moderate mist, scattered 100 ft, temperature 15°C, dew point 15°C, and an altimeter setting 29.24 inches of mercury. The pilot did not submit the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident /Incident Report Form 6120.1.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9346G
- Reported as
- Cessna 182 (P)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18260886
- Built
- 1971
- Engine
- Cont Motor O-470 SERIES, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- CPM · Compton, CA
- Destination
- SDM · San Diego, CA
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- SDM · Brown Field Muni
- Equipment
- Unknown
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
- 56
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Last flight review
- January 4, 2016
- Flight hours
- 796 total · 754 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.84 inHg
- Observed at
- KSDM
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 24, 2018, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 410 KB in all.