Cessna 172N accident near Santa Monica, CA
On March 29, 2001, a Cessna 172N (airplane) was involved in an accident near Santa Monica, CA. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- March 29, 2001
- Place
- Santa Monica, CA
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 34.022°N, 118.582°W
- NTSB ID
- 20010407X00718
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On March 28, 2001, at 1858 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172N, N2838E, descended into an area of the Pacific Ocean known as the Santa Monica Bay, near Santa Monica, California. The private pilot had rented the airplane from Justice Aviation, a Santa Monica based flight school, which operated it. The airplane was destroyed upon impacting the ocean. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The flight was performed under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, and no flight plan had been filed. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport, about 7 nautical miles (nm) east of the crash site, from where the flight originated at 1852. According to Justice Aviation personnel, the pilot had rented the airplane for a 1- to 2-hour-long personal flight over the local Los Angeles area. Prior to taking off, at 1851:40, the pilot advised the Santa Monica control tower's local controller that he intended to perform a flight under visual flight rules. Regarding the pilot's planned route, he advised the controller that he intended to fly "up and down the shoreline." Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recorded radar data indicates that at the commencement of the airplane's takeoff roll, the airplane's Mode C transponder altitude was indicating the approximate 175-foot mean sea level (msl) airport elevation. During the initial climb, upon passing the end of runway 21, the airplane's altitude was approximately 500 feet. The airplane continued tracking in southwesterly and westerly directions until reaching the shoreline whereupon it
Probable cause
the pilot's loss of airplane control while maneuvering due to spatial disorientation. Contributing factors were the dark night, the marine cloud layer that restricted the pilot's cruising altitude, and the pilot's lack of familiarity with nighttime flight over the ocean.
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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.
