Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Corona, California 91718
Saturday, March 25, 2000 11:00 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot and passengers had taken off from Goodyear airport in Phoenix, Arizona for a flight to Santa Ana, California. The pilot said he obtained a weather briefing from the airport at Goodyear, but did not check with anybody concerning the fog he encountered near Corona, California. He stated that the Riverside and Corona area was 'socked in' with heavy fog and clouds, but that the outlying areas in the Moreno Valley were clear. He stated that the fog was coming in fast with low ceilings, so he decided to land in the clearing. While they were at the clearing, the pilot's father went to a nearby landfill and purchased approximately 18 gallons of automotive fuel for the airplane. After the fog began to clear, the pilot said they got ready to takeoff, and he got about 2-3 feet in the air when the engine suddenly died as if he had pulled back on the throttle. He said he also heard a popping noise but could not determine if it was the engine or a rock hitting the airplane. Later the pilot told FAA investigators that he did not have a problem with the engine. After the accident, at the request of the local fire department officials, the pilot drained approximately 18 gallons of fuel from the airplane. During a postaccident examination, the engine was started normally three times, with good throttle response and normal oil pressure.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate weather evaluation, and his improper remedial actions that led to a precautionary landing and subsequent attempted takeoff from unsuitable terrain.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/25/2000 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1100 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | CORONA |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 91718 |
| Event Date Year | 2000 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| 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 | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1053 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 360 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ONT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 943 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 20000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 14 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 4 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 10104 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 25 2000 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1155 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 17 2001 8:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N7354A |
| NTSB Number | LAX00LA135 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 172 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 172 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 29454 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2200 |
| 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 | Jun 12 1999 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 55 |
| Airframe Hours | 3409 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | DONALD L. BROWN |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | |
| Aircraft Owner City | PHOENIX |
| Aircraft Owner State | AZ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 85007 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | KGYR |
| Departure City | GOODYEAR |
| Departure State | AZ |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 430 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | KSNA |
| Destination City | SANTA ANA |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 14 2001 4:03AM |
| 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 | -- |