- Date
- April 16, 1988, 01:52 local (08:52 UTC)
- Place
- Maricopa, CA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N29111Cessna 210L
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 25826
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
Aircraft inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions.
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 pilot's destination was located at an elevation of 378 feet above sea level and about 77 nautical miles east of the accident location. The ceiling at his destination was reported at 5,500 feet above ground level. He did not obtain a preflight weather briefing prior to takeoff for the night cross country flight, over mountainous terrain, to his destination. Enroute the aircraft impacted trees while in a level flight attitude, on a fog shrouded mountain ridge, at an elevation of 5,500 feet MSL.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N29111
- Reported as
- Cessna 210L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 21059804
- Airframe hours
- 348
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-L, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- Unknown
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James C Francis Contractor Inc
- Registered owner
- James G Francis Const. Co.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 9, 1987 · 198 hours before
- Departed
- LOC · Lompoc, CA
- Destination
- L45 · Bakersfield, 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
- 31
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 290 total · 101 in this make and model · 224 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 24 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BFL, 34 nm away