LAX03FAMS3

The airplane took off, flew out over the ocean, and dropped off radar. The pilot was flying from his home to his place of business. A friend called the pilot's office the next morning and was told that the pilot had not come into work yet. The friend notified the FAA and an ALNOT was issued. The local Civil Air Patrol unit made several searches; however, they found no wreckage. The airplane and pilot remain missing.

History

On May 25, 2003, about 2240 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172B, N7555X, departed Little River Airport (O48), Little River, California, for the Nevada County Air Park (O17), Grass Valley, California. The flight did not arrive at the destination and is missing and presumed to have been destroyed. The pilot operated the family-owned airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot, the sole occupant, is presumed to have sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country business flight. No flight plan had been filed.

According to a family friend, he observed the pilot leave his home about 2200. He stated that the pilot's normal practice is to climb out over the ocean to gain altitude then head back inland for the flight to Grass Valley, especially if weather, such as a marine layer, is present. The friend also reported that when the pilot arrives at his destination he calls to let his friends know that he has arrived at the airport.

The airplane became a subject of an Alert Notice (ALNOT) when the friend called the pilot's company the next morning to make sure that the pilot had arrived safely. When they told the friend that the pilot had not checked in, he called Oakland Flight Service Station to report the missing airplane.

According to the local Civil Air Patrol (CAP), they received approximately 2 minutes worth of radar data. The airplane took off from O17 towards the ocean, and then dropped off radar. During multiple searches, they located no wreckage or debris from the airplane.

Personnel information

A review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airman records revealed that the pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for single engine land and instrument airplane. The private pilot certificate, with the airplane single engine land rating, was issued on January 5, 1977. He obtained the rating for instrument privileges on June 24, 1982.

The pilot held a third-class medical certificate that was issued on March 4, 2003. It had the limitation that the pilot must wear corrective lenses.

No personal flight records were located for the pilot, and the aeronautical experience listed in this report was obtained from a review of the FAA airmen records on file at the Airman and Medical Certification Branch of the FAA located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Those records indicated that the pilot logged a total flight time of 1,500 hours.

Aircraft information

The airplane, a Cessna 172B, serial number 17248055, was issued an FAA airworthiness certificate on October 31, 1960. It was registered to the current owner on March 19, 1996. A review of the airplane's logbooks revealed a total airframe time of 3,326.4 hours at the last annual inspection. An annual inspection was completed on November 22, 2002. The tachometer read 2,059.5 at the last inspection.

The airplane had a Teledyne Continental Motors O-300-D engine, serial number 24322-D-0-D, installed. Total time on the engine at the last annual inspection was 2,059.5 hours.

Meteorological information

The closest official weather observation station was Ukiah Municipal (UKI), Ukiah, California, located 27 nautical miles (nm) southeast of the accident site. The elevation of the weather observation station was 614 feet mean sea level (msl). An aviation routine weather report (METAR) for UKI was issued at 2256. It stated that winds were calm, with 10 miles visibility. Sky conditions were clear; temperature was 51 degrees Fahrenheit; dew point was 46 degrees Fahrenheit; and the altimeter was 30.01 inHg.

Communications

The Little River Airport was operated as a noncontrolled facility. The airport operated a common traffic area frequency (CTAF) that is monitored Thursday through Monday between the hours of 1600-0100 UTC. There were no radio communications between the pilot and CTAF.

Northern California Terminal Radar Approach Control provided no radio communication services for the pilot.