- Date
- January 20, 1993, 09:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Sun City, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N53908Cessna 172P
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930120000629A
- Case key
- 27820
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 decision to initiate VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Factors which contributed to the accident were: the pilot's failure to obtain a weather briefing, the adverse weather, and the 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 pilot was one of a group ferrying 6 airplanes. A mission commander was not designated; each pilot would 'do their own thing.' Another pilot said the Cessna 172 pilots launched without a weather briefing. The accident pilot departed at about 0920. Approximately 10 min later, a witness located about 300 yds from the accident site heard the airplane circling a mountain '...way too low.' Before impact. The witness stated he couldn't see because it was too foggy. Witnesses reported the visibility to be about 50 ft in dense fog. The other pilots said they encountered low clouds and fog which continued until about 3 mi north of the destination airport. Two of the pilots said they tried to descend below the clouds to get into the destination airport but turned back.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N53908
- Reported as
- Cessna 172P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17274825
- Airframe hours
- 6,430
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Operator
- Hiser Helicopters, Inc., doing business as
- Registered owner
- Hiser Helicopters, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 11, 1993 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- RAL · Riverside, CA
- Destination
- F70 · Rancho, 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
- 26
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 317 total · 89 in this make and model · 162 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.