- Date
- May 17, 1990, 21:31 local (May 18, 1990, 04:31 UTC)
- Place
- Goleta, CA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7156SCessna 150H
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report December 14, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900518019769A
- Case key
- 26808
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 pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane. Factors which contributed to the accident were the dark night and the pilot's lack of night flying experience.
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 aircraft was lost from visual contact by the tower while performing night touch-and-go landings, and presumed to have crashed into the ocean. Amoung the few items recovered were a pair of wheel chocks with the aircraft's number. Departure from rwy 15R is out over the ocean. The pilot's last logged night time was 9/89 and consisted of 0.2 hrs. The pilot's total logged night time was 6.7 hrs, 6 of which were dual. Injuries presumed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7156S
- Reported as
- Cessna 150H
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15067856
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Whitehead, Ronald, doing business as Sierra Aviation
- Registered owner
- Unknown
- Departed
- SBA
- Airport
- SBA · Santa Barbara, runway 15R, 4,183 × 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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 102 total · 23 in this make and model · 56 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 40° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Observed at
- SBA, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.