Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Simi Valley, California 93063
Saturday, August 20, 1994 22:18 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
THE STUDENT WAS ENROLLED IN AN FAA-APPROVED PART 141 SCHOOL. HE PLANNED TO BEGIN A SOLO CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT AT 1415 PDT, BUT DID NOT DEPART UNTIL 1505. THE FLIGHT WAS TO BE A 3.3-HOUR-LONG ROUND-ROBIN TRIP TO LAUGHLIN, PARKER, BLYTHE, PALM SPRINGS, AND BACK TO BIG BEAR CITY. AT 1927, THE PILOT LANDED AT PALM SPRINGS, BOUGHT 10 GALLONS OF FUEL FOR THE 32-MILE RETURN FLIGHT HOME, AND TOOK OFF AT 1950. EN ROUTE, LIGHT CONDITIONS BECAME DARK. THE PILOT HAD NO NIGHT FLYING EXPERIENCE AND WAS UNABLE TO TURN ON THE CABIN LIGHTS OR COMMUNICATE VIA RADIO. AFTER FLYING WESTBOUND FOR ABOUT 100 MILES AND 2.5 HOURS, ALL FUEL WAS EXHAUSTED. THE PILOT MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING ON A STREET, AND THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED HEAD-ON WITH AN AUTOMOBILE. THE AUTOMOBILE DRIVER RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES, AND THE PASSENGER OF THE AUTOMOBILE WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED. A REVIEWED OF THE STUDENT'S TRAINING RECORDS REVEALED THAT HIS INSTRUCTOR (CFI) HAD NOT FOLLOWED THE REQUIRED FAA-APPROVED SYLLABUS. SPECIFICALLY, THE CFI HAD NOT PROVIDED THE REQUIRED INSTRUCTION BETWEEN THE SECOND AND THIRD PHASE CHECKS, AND HE FAILED TO ENSURE THAT THE STUDENT HAD THE REQUIRED NIGHTTIME FLIGHT TRAINING BEFORE ASSIGNING THE SOLO CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
FUEL EXHAUSTION AFTER THE STUDENT PILOT BECAME LOST/DISORIENTED. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: FAILURE OF THE SUPERVISING FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR (CFI) TO FOLLOW THE FAA APPROVED SYLLABUS, INADEQUATE SUPERVISION BY THE COMPANY/OPERATOR MANAGEMENT, DARKNESS, AND THE STUDENT'S LACK OF NIGHT FLYING EXPERIENCE.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/20/1994 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 2218 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | SIMI VALLEY |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 93063 |
| Event Date Year | 1994 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | 0 |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 0 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Bright |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 20 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 310 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 1 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 1 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1714 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 20 1994 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1047 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 6 2000 12:01PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N739VY |
| NTSB Number | LAX94LA335 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 172N |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 172N |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17270852 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2300 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 8 1994 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | AERO HAVEN, INC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P. O. BOX 2799 |
| Aircraft Owner City | BIG BEAR CITY |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 92314 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | AERO HAVEN, INC. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | P.O. BOX 2799 |
| Operator City | BIG BEAR CITY |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 92314 |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | PSP |
| Departure City | PALM SPRINGS |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1950 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | L35 |
| Destination City | BIG BEAR CITY |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |