Fouga 6 CM 170 accident near San Joaquin, CA
On April 9, 2000, a Fouga 6 CM 170 (airplane) was involved in an accident near San Joaquin, CA. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- April 9, 2000
- Place
- San Joaquin, CA
- Aircraft
- Fouga 6 CM 170 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 36.591°N, 120.191°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X20833
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On April 9, 2000, at 0715 hours Pacific daylight time, a Fouga 6 CM 170, N495F, was destroyed when the aircraft impacted terrain in an open, level pasture, 3 miles north of San Joaquin, California. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The personal flight was operated by the owner under 14 CFR Part 91. The commercial certificated pilot and the student certificated second pilot were fatally injured. The aircraft departed from Fresno-Chandler Downtown Airport, Fresno, California, at 0700. A witness, who observed the aircraft from about 1 mile north of the accident site, said his attention was attracted to the aircraft because the sun angle was low and the airplane was "shiny like a mirror." From his position he was looking up at a 45-degree angle. As he watched, the airplane performed two complete loops, then one horizontal roll, and then another roll while coming toward him from south to north. As the plane was just coming out of the second roll he thought "something happened" because the airplane entered a spin and fell "like a piece of paper" to the ground. This witness said the engine noise was "real loud, roaring like a rocket" as the aircraft spun to the ground. He thought the aircraft was going almost straight down during the spin. Another witness was standing in the front yard of his home about 1/4-mile southeast of the accident site. The sun had risen but was low in the east. The sky was clear and the visibility was good. As he looked to the northwest his attention was attracted to the aircraft because it "glistene
Probable cause
The pilot's intentional performance of aerobatic maneuvers that resulted in the aircraft stalling and entering a spin from which he did not recover. A factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the aircraft.
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Browse: California
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
