- Date
- February 23, 2003, 18:00 local (Feb 24, 2003, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Palmdale, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5202ACessna 310
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report September 1, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20030223002729A
- Case key
- 56541
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 maintain an adequate terrain/obstacle clearance altitude. Factors in the accident were the low ceilings and the dusk light illumination.
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 airplane collided with powerlines while diverting to an alternate airport. The pilot stated that the weather conditions deteriorated along his route of flight. He contacted the Flight Service Station (FSS) via radio and was advised the ceiling in Soledad Canyon (the accident location) was about 3,500 feet. The elevation at Soledad Pass on the Los Angeles VFR Terminal Area Chart is 3,225 feet mean sea level (msl). As the pilot entered the canyon, dusk lighting conditions existed and he felt ceiling conditions were lower than those forecast. He decided to divert to an alternate airport instead of continuing on into the canyon. The pilot turned toward the airport and the airplane impacted the powerlines. The airplane then landed at the alternate airport uneventfully. Post accident examination of the airplane revealed damage to both propellers, the nose gear door, and the left tip tank. The closest official weather observation station was reporting a broken ceiling at 3,600 feet, with higher layers.
Factual narrative
On February 23, 2003, at 1800 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 310, N5202A, collided with powerlines near Palmdale, California, while diverting to William J. Fox Airfield, Lancaster, California. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 for the personal cross-country flight. The instrument rated private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. Day visual meteorological conditions existed during the flight and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated at Henderson Airport (HND), Henderson, Nevada, about 1700, and was scheduled to terminate at Whiteman Airport (WHP), Los Angeles, California.
The pilot stated that the weather conditions deteriorated along his route of flight. He contacted the Flight Service Station (FSS) via radio and was advised the ceiling in Soledad Canyon (the accident location) was about 3,500 feet. The elevation at Soledad Pass on the Los Angeles VFR Terminal Area Chart is 3,225 feet mean sea level (msl). As the pilot entered the canyon, dusk lighting conditions existed and he felt ceiling conditions were lower than those forecast. He decided to divert to an alternate airport (William J. Fox Airfield). The pilot turned toward the airport and the airplane impacted the powerlines. The airplane then landed at the alternate airport uneventfully.
Post accident examination of the airplane revealed damage to both propellers, the nose gear door, and the left tip tank.
The automated surface observing system (ASOS) issued for Van Nuys Airport (VNY), Van Nuys, California, reported the following conditions at 1751: wind 170 degrees at 5 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; ceiling broken 3,600 feet, overcast 10,000 feet; temperature 13 Celsius; dew point 9 Celsius; and altimeter 29.77 inHg.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5202A
- Reported as
- Cessna 310
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 35402
- Airframe hours
- 5,081
- Engines
- Continental O-470, 260 horsepower, reciprocatingContinental O-470, 240 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Christopher Banninger
- Registered owner
- Appaloosa Air, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 13, 2002 · 145 hours before
- Departed
- KHND · Henderson, NV
- Destination
- KWHP · Whiteman, CA
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
- 47
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- September 12, 2000
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,412 total · 238 in this make and model · 1,304 as pilot in command · 41 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 240° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.72 inHg
- Observed at
- KWJF, 10 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.