- Date
- January 5, 1989, 17:05 local (Jan 6, 1989, 01:05 UTC)
- Place
- Oxnard, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N61587Cessna 172M
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report January 22, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890105000949A
- Case key
- 26205
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
Continued VFR flight by the pilot into instrument meteorlogical conditions which resulted in an in-flight collsion with terrain. Related factors were: failure of the pilot to use a preflight briefing service, his decision to initiate flight into known adverse weather, the adverse weather conditions, the pilot's visual perception at dusk, and the rising/mountainous terrain.
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 plt listened to wx rprts on the radio, but didn't rcv an FAA or NWS briefing. A frontal sys was forecasted to acrosshis rte of flt with prctns for multiple cloud layers, low ceilings, restricted vis, icing & rain showers. The plt told a friend, who drove him to the arpt, that he could 'fly under the heavy clouds' that they observed to the south. The acft depd watsonville at abt 1450 PST, but didn't arrive at the destn (santa monica); 15 days ltr, it was fnd on anacopaisland (14 mi west of Oxnard), where it impacted a 1112' ridge at abt the 440' lvl. Radar data showed a probable track leading twd the acdnt site, but it had disappeared abt 22 mi nw of the crash site, after the acft had flown west of a more direct rte (over ocean water). A helicopter plt, who was in the vctny at the time, rprtd a 500' broken to overcast sky cond with less than 2 mi vis & mod rain showers. The acdnt was estimated to have occurred at abt dusk. No preimpact part failure/malfunction of the acft or eng was fnd.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N61587
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17264660
- Airframe hours
- 3,334
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Air Spacers, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 29, 1989 · 101 hours before
- Departed
- WVI · Watsonville, CA
- Destination
- SMO · Santa Monica, 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
- 77
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 3,340 total · 330 in this make and model · 3,225 as pilot in command · 16 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 310° at 15 knots
- Temperature
- 55 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.