- Date
- August 23, 1984, 20:57 local (Aug 24, 1984, 03:57 UTC)
- Place
- Monterey, CA
- Injuries
- 5 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7AECessna 320C
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19840823043329A
- Case key
- 23992
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 flt arrived in Monterey, CA, that afternoon. After dinner the flt was returning to the point of original departure. When the plt contacted the twr for taxi instruction he was informed that Monterey wx was below VFR minimums. After a discussion of wx conditions in the vicinity and the nearby mountains, the controller issued a special VFR clearance out of the control zone. At 2051 PDT the acft was cleared for takeoff. At 2054 when asked by the controller if the highway was in sight the plt responded 'roger.' The controller instructed the plt to stay over the highway and to standby on twrfreq. At 2055 the controller called the acft to turn left warning of rising terrain. The acft was observed on radar to climb in a right turn from 900 to 1500 feet before radar contact was lost about 4.5 miles east of the arpt. The acft impacted the 30 degree upsloping terrain in a nose down inverted attitude and was consumed by post crash fire. Elevation at the arpt and accident site were 244 and 744 ft MSL respectively.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7AE
- Reported as
- Cessna 320C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 320C0060
- Airframe hours
- 4,605
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-470-D, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Cranston I. Root
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 12, 1984 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- MRY · Monterey, CA
- Destination
- FCH · Fresno, 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
- 58
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 2,041 total · 50 in this make and model · 1,841 as pilot in command · 51 in the last 90 days · 51 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 290° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 700 ft broken
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MRY, 6 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.