Cessna 172M N80274
10 November 1991 · Carmel Valley, California, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 10 November 1991 at about 19:49 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N80274, operated by William T. Cleverdon, III, was involved in an accident near Carmel Valley, California, United States. 4 people were on board and 3 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 19:49
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Carmel Valley, California, United States
- Coordinates
- 36.3899, -121.6508
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M
- Registration
- N80274
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- William T. Cleverdon, III
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Watsonville → Carmel Valley
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX92FA043
People
3 people died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A SAFE ALTITUDE ABOVE THE GROUND DURING AN INTENTIONAL LOW ALTITUDE FLIGHT IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS RELATED TO THE PILOT BECOMING DISTRACTED WHILE FLYING OVER THE GROUND AND TO HIS FAILURE TO INITIATE A CLIMB OR TAKE OTHER CORRECTIVE ACTION BY ALTERING HIS COURSE IN A TIMELY MANNER TO AVOID COLLIDING WITH THE MOUNTAIN.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
ON A CLR DAY WITH 15 MI VIS, THE PLT FLEW TO THE CARMEL VALLEY ARPT. WITNESSES SAID HE DSCNDD TO BTN 200' & 300' AGL (650' & 750' MSL), THEN FLEW PAST THE ARPT; INITIALLY THE GND TRACK WAS PARALLEL, BUT ABT 570 FT SOUTH OF RWY 29. WITNESSES SAID THE ACFT WAS FLYING SLOWLY; AFTER TRAVELING ABT 8/10 MI PAST THE ARPT, THE ACFT TURNED RGT & FLEW ABT 6/10 MI, HDG TWD THE RISING TRRN OF A BOX CANYON. JUST BFR IMPACT, THE ACFT BGN A LEFT TURN & COLLIDED WITH 40 DEG UPSLOPING TRRN AT ABT 850' MSL. THE PILOT HAD FLOWN THE ACFT TO THE SAME ARPT 7 WKS EARLIER. A PILOT EXAMINER RPRTD THE ARPT WAS CLEARLY VISIBLE FM THE AIR & WAS NOT DIFFICULT TO LOCATE, ESPECIALLY AFTER HAVING ONCE BEEN THERE. NO PREIMPACT MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND WITH THE AIRFRAME OR ENG.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Cessna 172 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Apr 1991 | Cessna 172P | College Park, Maryland, United States | Civil Air Patrol, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 25 Apr 1991 | Cessna 172 | Detroit, Michigan, United States | Eximous Flying Club, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 24 Jul 1991 | Cessna 172N | Napa, California, United States | Bridgeford Flying SVC. | No injuries | - |
| 9 Apr 1991 | Cessna 172H | Morehead, Kentucky, United States | Roger Wend | Minor injuries | - |
| 5 Apr 1991 | Cessna 172A | Hood River, Oregon, United States | Paul J. Welp | No injuries | - |
| 31 Mar 1991 | Cessna 172M | Ogden, Utah, United States | Alta Aircraft | No injuries | - |
All 12,209 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Jul 1991 | Cessna C-172P | Hesperia, California, United States | South Bay Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 24 Jul 1991 | Beechcraft 76 | Sacramento, California, United States | Altair Aviation Corp. | No injuries | - |
| 27 Jul 1991 | Ayres S2R | Visalia, California, United States | Gilbert Aviation Industries | Serious injuries | - |
| 1 Aug 1991 | Cessna 421C | Auburn, California, United States | Edward Mueller | No injuries | - |
| 2 Aug 1991 | Champion 7GCBC | Lake Elsinore, California, United States | Halbeisen, John F | Fatal | 2 |
| 2 Aug 1991 | Mooney M20E | Riverside, California, United States | Todd Dreyer | Minor injuries | - |