Cessna 172N accident near Avalon, CA
On May 7, 1998, a Cessna 172N (airplane) was involved in an accident near Avalon, CA. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 7, 1998
- Place
- Avalon, CA
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 33.381°N, 118.450°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X10117
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 7, 1998, about 1200 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N6514E, was destroyed after colliding with mountainous terrain on Santa Catalina Island about 3 miles southwest of Avalon, California. The private pilot and three passengers all received fatal injuries. Bravo Helicopter and Wing, Torrance, California operated the flight under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight and no flight plan was filed. The pilot had received a limited preflight weather briefing for the route from Torrance to Catalina Island and return. The flight originated about 1000 from Torrance, and according to the Catalina Unicom radio operator, the aircraft landed about 1030 and departed for the return flight about 1130 to 1200. The aircraft was located at 1717 by the U.S. Coast Guard responding to an emergency locator beacon (ELT) signal. PERSONNEL INFORMATION Examination of the private pilot's logbook revealed that he had accumulated about 115 total flight hours. According to the operator's aircraft rental agreement, the pilot indicated that he had 121.8 flight hours with 59.1 hours as pilot-in-command and 55.5 hours of flight instruction. The operator reported that the pilot received a 42-minute checkout flight and a 1.0-hour ground checkout, including a written test, before the aircraft was rented to him. The checkout flight was not listed in the pilot's logbook. The pilot's last documented second-class flight physical was conducted on September 21, 1996. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION Prior to departure from Torranc
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance in a Blind/Box Canyon. A related factor was the mountainous/hilly terrain.
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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.
