Cessna R182 accident near Altadena, CA

On May 15, 2016, a Cessna R182 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Altadena, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

May 15, 2016

Place

Altadena, CA

Aircraft

Cessna R182 · Airplane

Injuries

1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

34.225°N, 118.139°W

NTSB ID

20160516X04030

Official records · WPR16FA111

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

Air traffic control records

• Air Traffic Control: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Air Traffic Control Factual Report - Attachment 1: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Air Traffic Control Factual Report - Attachment 2: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• FAA Air Traffic Control Transcript: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn May 15, 2016, about 0829 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna R182, N133BW, was destroyed when it impacted mountainous terrain during cruise flight near Altadena, California. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to San Diego Skylane LLC and was operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the flight. The personal, cross-country flight originated from Montgomery Field, San Diego, California, at 0737, with an intended destination of Santa Monica Airport (SMO), Santa Monica, California. Information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that, about 0810, a controller at the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control facility (SCT) directed the pilot to proceed direct to the POPPR airspace fix and to descend and maintain 4,000 ft mean sea level (msl). Seven minutes later, about 0817, the SCT controller directed the pilot to fly a heading of 310° followed by turns to 360° and 030°. At 0821, the SCT controller told the pilot to contact the SCT valley radar sector controller (VLYR) on frequency 135.05. The pilot checked in with the SCT VLYR controller and reported that he was level at 4,000 ft msl on a heading of 030°. The controller acknowledged the pilot report and advised the pilot that the Bob Hope Airport (BUR), Burbank, California, altimeter setting was 29.92. The pilot responded that he missed the last radio transmission. The controller repea

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from rising mountainous terrain while flying in instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing to the accident was the loss of radio communications for a reason that could not be determined because of the extensive impact and thermal damage to the airplane.

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Browse: California · Cessna aircraft

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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.