- Date
- March 28, 1989, 13:53 local (21:53 UTC)
- Place
- Santa Barbara, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N20356Cessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 2, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890328004849A
- Case key
- 26361
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
The improper inflight planning/decisions by the plt when he decided to intentionally fly low over rough water in the pacific ocean and the partial loss of power for undetermined reasons.
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 airplane had been observed for several minutes flying very low over the water. At one point, it struck the water but recovered and flew a bit higher above the water for another mile. The airplane did not turn toward the shoreline and it appeared to glide nose down into the water. The student pilot said he was descending toward the water at 400 to 600 fpm when the engine backfired. He said that he applied carburetor heat but the engine continued to run rough and would produce only 1,200 RPM. He flew at this power setting for a mile or more, just above the water, and even struck the tops of the waves at times. The wheels struck the water and the airplane bounced, and then nosed into the water. The wreckage was not recovered.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N20356
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32796
- Airframe hours
- 2,200
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Yehiam Kanski, doing business as Air School
- Registered owner
- Yehiam Kanski
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 15, 1989 · 60 hours before
- Departed
- VNY · Van Nuys, 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
- 20
- Certificate
- Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 70 total · 48 in this make and model · 20 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.