Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Santa Ysabel, California 92070
Friday, March 9, 2001 14:20 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane collided with terrain following an encounter with clouds and low ceilings. Two witnesses observed the airplane. One had been a licensed pilot. A loud engine sound caught their attention. The engine sounded like it was revving to a high rpm. The airplane sounded very low. They heard the sound for 2 or 3 seconds before they saw the airplane. It came out of clouds with the nose pointing down more than 75 degrees. They were looking north at the side of the airplane as it moved right to left. They did not observe any rotation of the airplane as it disappeared behind a ridgeline, and then they heard a muffled thud. The engine sound simultaneously ceased. They did not observe any pieces separate in flight. The weather was overcast and misting. A weather study indicated cloud tops were generally in the 4,000-foot range on the coast and increased to nearly 7,000 feet in the vicinity of the accident site. Several pilot reports indicated a broken to overcast layer of clouds with cloud tops ranging from 4,500 to 9,000 feet. Recorded radar data showed the airplane maintained a northeasterly track for nearly 20 minutes after takeoff. It then began a gradual left turn for 2 minutes. The target made a sharp left 90-degree turn, and then made a right turn. After 360 degrees, the right turn decreased in radius and continued for over 270 degrees until the last recorded target. This last target was near the accident site. The target reached a peak mode C reported altitude of 6,700 feet at the beginning of the first right turn. The last mode C reported altitude of 4,900 feet occurred about 180 degrees into the second right turn. The accident site elevation is about 2,800 feet msl. The pilot did not possess an instrument rating.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's continued VFR flight into IFR conditions, which resulted in a loss of control due to spatial disorientation.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/9/2001
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1420
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City SANTA YSABEL
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92070
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 330652N
Event Location Longitude 1164329W
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 1353 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 230
Weather Observation Facility ID RMN
Elevation of weather observation facility 1393
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 14
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1800
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 1200
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.94
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
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) 16297
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Mar 9 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1450
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 29 2004 1:02PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-SAN-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N91445
NTSB Number LAX01FA112
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name North American
Aircraft Model NAVION
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number NAV 4-95
Certified Max Gross Weight 2750
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 3 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 5241
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ALBERT K. MANGRUM
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City EL CAJON
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92019
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 SEE
Departure City SAN DIEGO
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1348
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code NJK
Destination City EL CENTRO
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 17 2004 11:44AM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --