Cessna 172N N738ED

Summary

On 20 February 1996 at about 04:14 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N738ED was involved in an accident near Julian, California, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 February 1996 at 04:14

Classification

Accident

Location

Julian, California, United States

Coordinates

33.0208, -116.4896

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N738ED

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

El Centro → Carlsbad

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX96FA115

3 people died.

the pilot's delay in requesting assistance to avoid high terrain. Factors were: the downdrafts, mountainous terrain, and the pilot's improper in-flight planning.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight was operating in visual conditions on an instrument flight plan at night. The pilot informed ATC that he was having difficulty maintaining his assigned altitude in downdrafts as his course converged on the lee side of the mountain ridge line. As he approached the VORTAC, located on a peak on the ridge line, the downdraft intensity increased and he was unable to maintain the en route MEA and the aircraft descended into an undercast cloud layer. The pilot requested vectors out of the downdraft but the aircraft impacted the face of the ridge 300 feet below the crest. A pilot following in another aircraft reported that conditions were clear and visibility unrestricted over lower terrain away from the ridge.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.