Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Van Nuys Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Van Nuys, California 91406
Thursday, November 14, 1996 1:19 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot ascertained Burbank's weather had deteriorated and he diverted to Van Nuys. ATC issued the pilot an instrument clearance for the ILS 16R approach. The pilot proceeded inbound and ATC stated 'report canceling, I'll be monitoring.' When the airplane was north of the airport about 2,000 feet msl, the pilot informed ATC that he had the airport in sight. He did not request closure of his flight plan. The pilot descended to 900 feet, entered a fog bank, initiated a missed approach and climbed to 1,200 feet. The aircraft subsequently descended and impacted a taxiway near midfield and slid 700 feet where it collided with five parked airplanes. The impacts activated several ELTs. The controller took no action regarding the radar target's disappearance and the aircraft's instrument flight plan remained open. No FAA ground-based receiver recorded the ELT signals which were eventually heard by SARSAT. The airplane was found 4 hours after the crash, and after the pilot had succumbed to his injuries. The operator had failed to provide required training to the pilot who had a history of unsatisfactory instrument flying performance. A pilot on the ground reported that a fog bank moved over the airport from west to east at the time the aircraft was landing. The visibility was reported by the witness to be 20 feet at the time of the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain a climb following initiation of a missed approach in fog due to spatial disorientation, and his inadequate training by company personnel. Potential rescue was delayed due to the FAA radar controller's failure to follow established communication procedures for overdue aircraft.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/14/1996 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 119 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | VAN NUYS |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 91406 |
| Event Date Year | 1996 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | VAN NUYS |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | VNY |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 799 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 118 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 160 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | VNY |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 799 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 12 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 39 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 2 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 2001 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 14 1996 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 600 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 10:27AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8046M |
| NTSB Number | LAX97FA036 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 310I |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 310I |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 310I0046 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 5100 |
| 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 | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jan 19 1996 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 67 |
| Airframe Hours | 7768 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | GARRISON AVIATION INC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 710 O STREET |
| Aircraft Owner City | PORT TOWNSEND |
| Aircraft Owner State | WA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 98368 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | AEX AIR |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | P.O. BOX 9239 |
| Operator City | MESA |
| Operator State | AZ |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 85214 |
| Operator Code | A3XA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| 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 | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Cargo |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Unknown |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | VGT |
| Departure City | NORTH LAS VEGAS |
| Departure State | NV |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 2347 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | VNY |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach |
| 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 | 16R |
| Runway Length | 8001 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |