Cessna 175B accident near Blythe, CA
On July 23, 1993, a Cessna 175B (airplane) was involved in an accident near Blythe, CA. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 23, 1993
- Place
- Blythe, CA
- Aircraft
- Cessna 175B · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 33.751°N, 114.509°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X12935
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 23, 1993, at 1450 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 175B, N8264T, collided with a cable that stretches across the Colorado River about 25 miles north of Blythe, California. The pilot was conducting a local area visual flight rules personal flight. The aircraft, registered to and operated by the pilot, was destroyed. The certificated private pilot and his passenger sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated in Parker, Arizona, at an undetermined time and landed at Blythe, California at 1400 hours. According to the Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector who interviewed a witness located at the Blythe Airport, the aircraft was "on the ground for thirty or forty minutes", prior to departure from the airport. There were no actual witnesses to the airplane crash. However, numerous witnesses located between one and seven miles south of the accident site reported observing the accident airplane flying northbound above the Colorado River. The consensus of several witnesses was that the airplane was "no higher than 50 feet above the water." One witnesses told Safety Board investigators that he "could see the pilot's face and his smile, that is what scared me." Another witness reported that the pilot was flying up the river rocking his wings "side to side." He reported that he "could see the pilot...he had a mustache and dark glasses on." He stated that the pilot nodded to the crowd. The witness said the pilot "never came up off the water level." He turned to his wife and said, "Uh-oh, he
Probable cause
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO SEE AND AVOID THE CABLE DUE TO DRUG IMPAIRMENT. FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE PILOT'S INTENTIONAL BUZZING, HIS OSTENTATIOUS DISPLAY, AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN AN ADEQUATE ALTITUDE OVER THE RIVER.
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Browse: California · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
