Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Calabasas, California 91359
Monday, April 29, 2013 14:01 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On April 29, 2013 at about 1401 Pacific daylight time, two airplanes, a Cessna 172RG, N4677V, and a Cessna 172M, N64030, collided in midair, approximately 3 miles southwest of Calabasas, California. The Cessna 172RG flight instructor and the commercial pilot sustained minor injuries; the pilot rated passenger sustained serious injuries. Both the commercial pilot and the private pilot in the Cessna 172M were fatally injured. The Cessna 172RG sustained substantial damage to the left wing; the Cessna 172M was destroyed. The Cessna 172RG was registered to AmeriFlyers of Florida, LLC, and operated by American Flyers as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 instructional flight. The Cessna 172M was registered to a private party, and operated by the commercial pilot as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for either airplane. The Cessna 172RG departed from the Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) about 1353, and the Cessna 172M departed from SMO about 1313.
A representative from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that at 1313, the Cessna 172M pilot contacted the Santa Monica air traffic control tower (ATCT), and requested pattern work following maintenance. At 1340, the pilot requested a departure to the west. The controller approved the request, and terminated services.
At 1353, the Cessna 172RG pilot requested clearance to depart SMO to the west en route to Camarillo, California. The request was approved.
Representatives from the FAA reviewed recorded radar data, and reported that the Cessna 172M departed Santa Monica to the west, turned north up the coastline, and then turned inland, eastbound, at a Mode C reported altitude of 3,300 feet mean sea level (msl). The Cessna 172RG was westbound at a Mode C reported altitude of 3,400 feet msl. At 1401, the targets merged; one descended immediately, and the other continued west until it dropped below radar coverage.
Witnesses reported that they were hiking in the area when they heard a very loud strike. When they looked up, they observed two airplanes. One airplane (Cessna 172RG) was flying to the west. The other airplane (Cessna 172M) was rapidly descending towards the ground; they lost sight of it as it vertically descended behind a ridgeline; however, they saw a plume of black smoke shortly thereafter.
The Cessna 172RG landed in a golf course about 5 miles northwest of the Cessna 172M.
Both airplanes were moved to secure storage for further examinations.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/29/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1401 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Calabasas |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 91359 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | Yes |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | -- |
| Event Location Latitude | 340729N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1184718W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1353 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 76 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BUR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 778 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 20 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 5 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.8 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KBUR 292053Z 17009KT 5SM HZ CLR 26/12 A2983 RMK AO |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | 2 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 5 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA AWP Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 7 2013 7:41PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
||
|---|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
Aircraft #2 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4677V | N64030 |
| NTSB Number | WPR13FA211A | WPR13FA211B |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No | No |
| Damage | Substantial | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CESSNA | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 172RG | 172M |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 172RG0224 | 17264976 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | AMERIFLYERS OF FLORIDA LLC | BERLIN EDWARD |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | ADDISON | SANTA MONICA |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 75001-3252 | 90405-3210 |
| Operator is an individual? | No | Yes |
| Operator Name | American Flyers | STRAWN CHERYL |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- | -- |
| Operator City | Santa Monica | SANTA MONICA |
| Operator State | CA | CA |
| Operator Country | USA | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 90405 | 90405 |
| Operator Code | -- | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No | No |
| 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) | Instructional | Unknown |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No | No |
| Departure Airport Code | SMO | SMO |
| Departure City | Santa Monica | Santa Monica |
| Departure State | CA | CA |
| Departure Country | USA | USA |
| Departure Time | 1353 | 1313 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | CMA | SMO |
| Destination City | Camarillo | Santa Monica |
| Destination State | CA | CA |
| Destination Country | USA | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 7 2013 7:37PM | May 7 2013 7:37PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | -- | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- | -- |
| Runway Width | -- | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No | No |
| Medical Flight | -- | -- |