LAX00FA017

The airplane collided with hilly coastal terrain during a night cross-country flight. The noninstrument rated private pilot received three weather briefings throughout the day prior to the accident flight. The pilot was told during the last weather briefing that the weather was supposed to be VFR along the route of flight with cloud levels ranging between 1,000 feet to 2,200 feet agl, and IFR conditions to occur after midnight. The pilot was also informed that if he waited until the following morning to depart, the weather was forecasted to be IFR and that he may have to wait for the weather to clear. The weather briefer also informed the pilot that an air show was scheduled for the following morning at the departure airport, and that if the pilot could not depart prior to 1100 the following morning, he would be stuck at the airport because it would be closed to departing and arriving traffic. An eyewitness walking on the beach reported that he saw an airplane flying low overhead at 100 feet agl. He observed the airplane make a left turn and fly inland less than a mile before he observed it flying south again. He stated that the airplane disappeared from his view in a coastal fogbank that was also obscuring steeply rising terrain further to the south. He did not hear the sound of a collision or see a fire, and assumed that the aircraft had cleared the rising terrain. The airplane wreckage was located the following morning approximately 50 feet below a ridge line on a southerly heading. The pilot had accumulated 120 total flight hours, of which 20 hours were flown at night, and 5 hours were flown in simulated instrument conditions. No anomalies were noted with the airplane and engine that would have prevented their normal operation.

History of flight

On October 15, 1999, at 2245 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 152 single engine airplane, N5169B, collided with rising terrain while maneuvering near Ventura, California. The aircraft was destroyed and the private pilot and passenger received fatal injuries. The aircraft was operated by Royal Aviation and rented by the pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 when the accident occurred. The flight originated from the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, Santa Barbara, California, at 2226, and was destined for the John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana, California. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan had been filed.

According to the pilot's relatives, he and the passenger had left Santa Ana and flew to Santa Ynez, California, to visit a relative of the passenger. They then visited some friends in Santa Barbara (SBA), and afterwards were going to return to Santa Ana via a visual flight rules (VFR) flight. The pilot received three weather briefings (one from Riverside Flight Service Station, and two from the Hawthorne Flight Service Station) for the different segments of flight throughout the day.

An eyewitness stated that he was walking on the beach about 2230, when he saw an aircraft flying along the coastline. He estimated that the aircraft was flying about 100 feet mean sea level (msl) as it passed overhead. He said that the southbound aircraft made a left turn and flew inland less than a mile before turning southbound again. The aircraft disappeared from his view in a coastal fogbank that was also obscuring steeply rising terrain further to the south. Since he did not hear the sound of a collision or see a fire, he concluded that the aircraft had somehow managed to clear the escarpment.

When the aircraft failed to arrive at the John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana, concerned family members notified the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The aircraft was located about 0920 the following morning by airborne Ventura County Sheriff's deputies. The SBA air traffic control tower (ATCT) operator had reported receiving an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal beginning about 2245 the previous evening.

Personnel information

The pilot was issued a private pilot certificate with a single engine land airplane rating on June 8, 1999. He was issued a third-class medical certificate on August 20, 1997, with no limitations. According to the pilot's family, he had accumulated a total of 120 flight hours, of which 30 had been accumulated in the same make and model as the accident airplane. The pilot had also accumulated approximately 20 hours and 5 hours of night and simulated instrument flight time, respectively.

Aircraft information

The two-seat, single engine airplane was equipped with two lap belt and shoulder harness restraining systems. The airplane was also equipped with a communication/navigation radio, and an airspeed indicator, attitude indicator, altimeter, turn coordinator, heading indicator, and a vertical speed indicator. The airplane utilized a 110-horsepower Lycoming O-235-L2C engine to propel the 2-blade Sensenich propeller. Review of the aircraft maintenance records revealed that the airplane underwent its last annual inspection on May 20, 1999, at an aircraft total time of 8,512.7 hours. The airplane underwent its last 100-hour inspection on September 16, 1999, at an aircraft total time of 8,613.0 hours. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accumulated approximately 38.6 hours since the 100-hour inspection. According to the maintenance records, the engine had accumulated approximately 920.6 hours since its last major overhaul.

Meteorological information

The pilot called the FAA Riverside Flight Service Station at 1100, and requested a weather briefing from the John Wayne Airport to Van Nuys. According to the pilot he intended on departing around 1130, and flying at an altitude of 4,500 feet, "clouds permitting." When the weather briefer inquired as to whether the pilot was capable of instrument flight, the pilot replied that he was not. At that point, the weather briefer informed the pilot that VFR was not recommended because of an AIRMET for instrument flight rules (IFR) conditions over central and southern California coastal areas and coastal valleys for ceilings at or below 1,000 feet and visibilities of less than 3 statute miles in mist and fog. The weather briefer indicated that the IFR conditions would more than likely last until 1100 to 1200, with conditions improving to VFR conditions later in the day. However, the briefer did not recommend VFR flight at that time due to the "current weather conditions across the basin area and the coastal regions." The pilot then asked the weather briefer what time the fog would move in (onshore) that evening. The briefer indicated that the forecast for the evening was VFR, but could not say what time the "stratus and fog" would move onshore.

The pilot called the Hawthorne Flight Service Station at 1719, and requested the current weather conditions for a flight from Santa Ynez to Santa Barbara. He also indicated that he intended on departing in a 1/2 hour. The weather briefer told the pilot that there were no weather advisories for the area and that the current weather report at Santa Barbara indicated a scattered cloud layer at 2,200 feet agl. The briefer indicated that the current weather report was only 5 minutes old and that the previous report indicated an overcast cloud layer and told the pilot that there was an overcast layer in the area. The weather briefer also reported that the Santa Maria weather was reporting an overcast cloud layer at 1,400 feet agl, and indicated that if the pilot were to fly VFR, he would "have to use caution." The pilot then told the weather briefer that he was going to depart "Santa Barbara back to John Wayne about 1100 this evening [2300]," and asked "do [you] think that'll be a problem?" The briefer stated that VFR would not be recommended because the entire coastline should develop low ceilings overnight, and that it would be overcast all the way south to Orange County. The briefer then checked the Santa Barbara forecast for 2300, and stated that the weather was changing from "left to right," and Santa Barbara's forecast did not include a ceiling and "LAX and Santa, and Long Beach are forecasting about 1,500 overcast, but Santa Barbara does not forecast it," The briefer also indicated that Santa Barbara had a cloud ceiling; however, they were only forecasting it for the next 2 hours. The pilot then asked if it would clear up after, and the briefer said that it was supposed to become scattered. The weather briefer then indicated that Santa Barbara "forecast a ceiling to move back in now around midnight." The briefer stated that if the pilot left at 2300, he would be VFR the whole way. The pilot stated that he would leave a little bit earlier. The weather briefer then told the pilot to call them back at his time of departure to make sure that it was VFR. The pilot said that he would and ended the conversation.

At 1956, the pilot called the Hawthorne Flight Service Station and asked for a weather briefing from Santa Barbara to John Wayne, and added that he was intending on departing at 2230, or if it was forecast for better weather then he might depart at 1000 the following morning (October 16). The weather briefer told the pilot that he may be better off if he departed that evening if he needed to fly VFR. The pilot indicated that he intended on flying VFR. The weather briefer then told the pilot that around 2230, they were expecting "2,200 scattered...Santa Anas expected to actually remain clear." The briefer continued by telling the pilot, "Santa Ana will probably be looking at 1,500 scattered for your arrival tonight. Tomorrow morning you're going to run into two problems, uh first of a