ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 35960
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| Date: | Tuesday 3 January 1995 |
| Time: | 10:52 |
| Type: |  Cessna A185F Skywagon |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N94296 |
| MSN: | 18503303 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1977 |
| Engine model: | CONTINENTAL IO-520-D |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Tehachapi, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Prescott Regional Airport, AZ (PRC) |
| Marin County Airport, CA (O56) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On January 3, 1995, at 1052 Pacific standard time, a Cessna A185F, N94296, collided with mountainous terrain after encountering instrument meteorological conditions in a mountain pass near Tehachapi, California. The aircraft was owned and operated by the pilot. The weather conditions reported by a National Weather Service observer in the town and by eyewitnesses to the accident consisted of a 50-foot overcast with the visibility 1/2 mile in snow showers. The aircraft was destroyed in the ground collision sequence and postcrash fire. The certificated private pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. The flight originated at Prescott, Arizona, on the day of the accident about 0830 Pacific standard time as a personal flight to Novato, California.
FAMILY MEMBERS SAID THAT, BEFORE FLIGHT, THE NONINSTRUMENT-RATED PILOT HAD OBTAINED WEATHER INFORMATION FROM A COMMERCIAL COMPUTER SERVICE (COMPUSERVE); HOWEVER, NO RECORDS WERE FOUND TO VERIFY THE COMPLETENESS OF THE WEATHER INFORMATION THAT HE HAD RECEIVED. CLOUDS AND RAIN WERE FORECAST ALONG THE ROUTE WITH MOUNTAIN OBSCURATION DUE TO CLOUDS, FOG, AND PRECIPITATION. ACCORDING TO MODE C RADAR DATA, THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED TO ABOUT 200 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND AS IT ENTERED TEHACHAPI PASS. TWO GROUND WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THEY SAW THE AIRPLANE ABOUT 100 FEET ABOVE AND TO THE NORTH SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY THAT TRAVERSED THE PASS. THEY COULD BARELY SEE THE AIRCRAFT DUE TO CLOUDS AND SNOW SHOWERS. REPORTEDLY, THE AIRPLANE BEGAN A LEFT TURN, AND THEN THE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE PITCHED UP AS THE WINGS CONTINUED INTO A STEEP BANK. THE AIRCRAFT THEN PITCHED NOSE DOWN AND CRASHED INTO THE GROUND.
Probable Cause: THE NONINSTRUMENT-RATED PILOT'S CONTINUED FLIGHT INTO KNOWN ADVERSE WEATHER, AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE AIRSPEED WHILE MANEUVERING TO REVERSE DIRECTION. FACTORS RELATING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN, AND ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001207X02872
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 28 August 1982 | N94296 | Michael Rhea | 0 | Monterey, CA | |
sub |
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:22 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 12-Oct-2022 05:39 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Category, Accident report, Photo] |
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