LAX85FA069

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 152 · Rosamond, CA · December 13, 1984

Accident · FatalField investigationFinal report

Date: December 12, 1984, 17:29 local (Dec 13, 1984, 01:29 UTC)
Place: Rosamond, CA
Injuries: 2 fatal
Damage: Destroyed
Phase of flight: Enroute
Aircraft: N49806Cessna 152
Weather: Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
Status: Completed
Report: Approved by Office Director
FAA report: 19841212068209A
Case key: 24441

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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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.

In flight encounter with weatherCruise - normal

Preflight planning/preparation - inadequatePilot in commandCause

Preflight briefing service - not usedPilot in command

Weather condition - snowFactor

Weather condition - rainFactor

Weather condition - cloudsFactor

Vfr flight into imc - attemptedPilot in commandCause

Lack of total instrument timePilot in commandFactor

In flight collision with terrain/waterManeuvering - turn to reverse direction

Terrain condition - mountainous/hilly

Analysis

Acft crashed in mountainous area while on a VFR flight. No record of the plt obtaining a wx briefing was found. Local residents 3-4 miles from accident site reported clouds, fog, rain, snow and hail obscured the mountains on the afternoon of 12/12/84 on through the night. Plt's son stated, plt did not like to check wx or file flt plans and was known to fly through clouds to reach VMC.

Aircraft

Registration: N49806
Reported as: Cessna 152
Category: Airplane
Serial number: 15283518
Airframe hours: 1,071
Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C, 118 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage: Destroyed
Flight: Personal · Part 91
Registered owner: John W. Giffen Jr.
Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility
Departed: CNO · Chino, CA
Destination: CRO · Corcoran, CA

N49806Registration cancelled Sep 5, 2012 · Cessna 152S/N 15283518 · Built 1979 Airframe modelCessna 152 Engine modelLycoming 0-235 series4 cycle

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: 57
Certificate: Private
Airplane ratings: Single-engine land
Medical: Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Seat: Left
Toxicology: Performed
Flight hours: 513 total · 52 in this make and model · 448 as pilot in command · 37 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions: Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
Wind: 345° at 25 knots, gusting 35
Temperature: 39 °F

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.

Accident 19841212068209ACessna 152 · Rosemond, CAFlew into rain, snow, and poor visibility. Impacted rising terrain. No weather briefing, disliked talking to FAA.Dec 12, 1984 · N49806 · Destroyed · 1 fatal