Cessna A185F N94296

Summary

On 3 January 1995 at about 18:52 local time, a Cessna A185F registered N94296 was involved in an accident near Tehachapi, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 January 1995 at 18:52

Classification

Accident

Location

Tehachapi, California, United States

Coordinates

35.1204, -118.5105

Aircraft

Cessna A185F

Registration

N94296

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Prescott → Novato

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX95FA072

1 person died.

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.