Lockheed P2V accident near East Highlands, CA
On October 3, 2003, a Lockheed P2V (airplane) was involved in an accident near East Highlands, CA. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- October 3, 2003
- Place
- East Highlands, CA
- Aircraft
- Lockheed P2V · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 34.139°N, 117.095°W
- NTSB ID
- 20031009X01699
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On October 3, 2003, at 1116 Pacific daylight time, a Lockheed P2V, N299MA, collided with mountainous terrain while maneuvering near East Highlands, California. Minden Air Corporation was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The airline transport pilot (ATP) licensed first pilot and the ATP licensed copilot sustained fatal injuries; the airplane was destroyed. The cross-country positioning flight departed Prescott, Arizona, at 0957, en route to San Bernardino, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at March Air Force Base, Riverside, California (RIV), which was the nearest official reporting station. Visual (VMC) and instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) existed at the accident site. A company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. The primary wreckage was at approximate global satellite positioning system (GPS) coordinates of 34 degrees 08.324 minutes north latitude and 117 degrees 05.7 minutes west longitude at an estimated elevation of 3,300 feet. Two observers were in a forest lookout tower (elevation about 7,900 feet) that was north of the accident site. One of the observers held a commercial pilot certificate with an instrument rating. They saw a cloud layer as far to the south as they could see. They used visual cues to estimate that the cloud tops were around 5,000 feet mean sea level (msl). They noted that the clouds did not extend all the way up into the mountain canyons; the clouds broke up near the head of some canyons. When the pilot observer first saw the airplane, he assumed that i
Probable cause
the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision and continued flight into instrument meteorological conditions that resulted in controlled flight into mountainous terrain.
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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
