- Date
- January 7, 1993, 16:10 local (Jan 8, 1993, 00:10 UTC)
- Place
- San Jacinto, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N20513Cessna 172
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 25, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930107000949A
- Case key
- 27904
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 flight's encounter with unforecast clear air turbulence.
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 while flying at 10,500 feet MSL above the overcast over a mountainous area. The flight encountered severe clear air turbulence causing the aircraft to enter into an uncontrolled roll. When the pilot regained control of the aircraft it had entered the clouds. Before the pilot could effect a total recovery the aircraft collided with the trees at the crest of the mountain. The accident site elevation is 9,277 feet MSL.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N20513
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 6151
- Airframe hours
- 3,202
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Ross, Herman D. & Cherri L.
- Registered owner
- Ross, Herman D. & Cherri L.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 10, 1992 · 108 hours before
- Departed
- YUM · Yuma, AZ
- Destination
- PMD · Palmdale, 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
- 46
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,253 total · 645 in this make and model · 2,363 as pilot in command · 73 in the last 90 days · 58 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 30 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- 100 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 25 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.