- Date
- April 15, 1988, 20:52 local (Apr 16, 1988, 03:52 UTC)
- Place
- Los Banos, CA
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N4493LCessna 172G
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 1, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 25825
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
Failure of the pilot to maintain control of his aircraft to avert a collision with the ground.
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 weather
Weather condition - fogFactor
Light condition - dark nightFactor
Weather evaluation - poorFactor
Loss of control - in flight
Altitude - not maintainedCause
Spatial disorientationCause
Inadequate recurrent trainingCause
Lack of total instrument timeFactor
In flight collision with terrain/water
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4493L
- Reported as
- Cessna 172G
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17254588
- Airframe hours
- 3,574
- Engine
- Continental O-300D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Satern, Don
- Registered owner
- Sateren, Don
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 26, 1987 · 35 hours before
- Departed
- 3O8 · Coalinga, CA
- Destination
- O14 · Turlock, CA
- Airport
- LSN · Los Banos Municipal, runway 32, 3,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 950 total · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
Other investigations on N4493L · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.