Cessna 150A accident near Santa Monica, CA
On December 22, 2022, a Cessna 150A (airplane) was involved in an accident near Santa Monica, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- December 22, 2022
- Place
- Santa Monica, CA
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150A · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 34.006°N, 118.494°W
- NTSB ID
- 20221223106489
Official records · WPR23FA073
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn December 22, 2022, about 1518 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 150, N7032X, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO), Santa Monica, California. The pilot sustained minor injuries, and the passenger was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that the accident flight was to be local, following a route northwest along the Pacific Ocean coastline with a pilot-rated passenger. The pilot reported that after topping off the airplane’s fuel tanks, the airplane seemed “sluggish” during the taxi to runway 21. The pilot canceled his takeoff request, taxied to his hangar, and shut down the engine to troubleshoot the anomaly. Initially he believed that it may have been due to low tire pressure, so he verified the tire pressure and started the engine. While taxiing from the hangar to the runway, a magneto check and carburetor heat check were within normal limits. The pilot contacted ground control, taxied to the runway, and departed runway 21 to the southwest. During the initial climb, about 575 ft agl, the pilot intercepted the coast near Ocean View Park and turned to the right to follow the coastline northwest (Figure 1). ADS-B data indicated that four minutes into the flight, while over Sunset Beach, the airplane had climbed to 1,025 ft agl with a consistent airspeed of about 70 mph. The pilot reported that he ensured that the carburetor heat was off, the mixture was rich, the throttle was in the maximum position
Probable cause
A failure of the No. 1 piston connecting rod bearing journal due to oil starvation for reasons that could not be determined, which resulted in a complete loss of engine power.
More accidents in CA
- Douglas MD-83, Feb 1, 2000
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32, Aug 31, 1986
- British Aerospace BAE-146-200, Dec 8, 1987
- Beech C-99, Aug 24, 1984
- Sikorsky S-61N, Aug 6, 2008
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.
