- Date
- September 29, 2025, 14:05 local (21:05 UTC)
- Place
- Avalon, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2079GCessna 182A
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Ground collision
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20250929016489A
- Case key
- 201798
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 land with a tailwind and a downslope to the runway.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he was landing on the runway with a tailwind and a down slope. The airplane touched down about one quarter to one third down the runway. The pilot realized that there was insufficient runway remaining to stop and chose to veer off the runway. In doing so, the airplane impacted a berm which substantially damaged the firewall. While taxiing to get to the taxiway, the airplane impacted a post which substantially damaged left aileron. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions of failures that would have precluded normal operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2079G
- Reported as
- Cessna 182A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 51379
- Built
- 1958
- Airframe hours
- 3,917.3
- Engine
- Cont Motor O-470 SERIES, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 18, 2025
- Departed
- SEE · El Cajon, CA
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- AVX · Catalina Airport, runway 04, 3,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Handheld GPS, ADS-B
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
- 75
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 13, 2023
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,618 total · 3,251 in this make and model · 4,693 as pilot in command · 63 in the last 90 days · 39 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- AVX, 32 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KAVX 251951Z AUTO VRB06KT 10SM CLR 21/15 A3004 RMK AO2 SLP150 T02110150
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 25, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.9 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.