Morane-Saulnier MS760 II accident near Irvine, CA

On November 30, 1996, a Morane-Saulnier MS760 II (airplane) was involved in an accident near Irvine, CA. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

November 30, 1996

Place

Irvine, CA

Aircraft

Morane-Saulnier MS760 II · Airplane

Injuries

3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

33.681°N, 117.849°W

NTSB ID

20001208X07060

Official records · LAX97FA059

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

Air traffic control records

• Transcript of Radio Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On November 30, 1996, at 1307 hours Pacific standard time, a Morane-Saulnier MS760 II, N2TE, rolled inverted and crashed into an industrial building from approximately 500 feet agl during an emergency landing approach at John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana, California. The aircraft was destroyed and the commercial pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area personal flight. Shortly after takeoff from runway 19R, the pilot radioed the John Wayne Air Traffic Control Tower declaring an emergency and stating his intent to return for landing. He stated that he had taken off with an external boarding ladder attached to the aircraft. The controller cleared the aircraft to land on the same runway it had just departed; however, a Boeing 757 aircraft, on 2-mile final approach from the north when the accident aircraft departed, landed on the same runway in the interim. There were several witnesses to the 4-minute flight. One reported observing the aircraft taxi out with the ladder on the right-hand side of the aircraft. Other witnesses reported that the aircraft's downwind leg was too close to the airport causing the aircraft to widely overshoot the turn to final approach, and that the pilot increased the bank angle as he tried to align the aircraft with the landing runway. Several non-pilot witnesses at various locations under the aircraft's flight path reported being attracted to the aircraft by its low altitude, slow speed, loud engine noise, and unusual proximity to the airport. According to the witnesses

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed margin while maneuvering in a steep banked turn to the landing runway, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. Factors in the accident were: the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection of the aircraft in that he departed with the boarding ladder attached to the aircraft's exterior; the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning in that he flew a

More accidents in CA

• Douglas MD-83, Feb 1, 2000
• Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32, Aug 31, 1986
• British Aerospace BAE-146-200, Dec 8, 1987
• Beech C-99, Aug 24, 1984
• Sikorsky S-61N, Aug 6, 2008

Browse: California

See it on the map

Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.