Cessna 182Q N97287

Summary

On 29 April 2007 at about 16:46 local time, a Cessna 182Q registered N97287 was involved in an accident near Carlsbad, 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

29 April 2007 at 16:46

Classification

Accident

Location

Carlsbad, California, United States

Coordinates

33.1019, -117.3556

Aircraft

Cessna 182Q

Registration

N97287

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Carlsbad → Chandler

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX07LA140

3 people died.

the pilot's loss of control due to spatial disorientation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After takeoff on runway 24, air traffic control instructed the pilot to climb and maintain 5,000 feet, turn to a heading of 060 degrees, and proceed direct to a navigation aid. The pilot acknowledged the controller's instruction. Approximately 2 minutes later, the controller asked what the pilot was doing and there was no response. A witness observed the airplane coming out of the base of a 700-foot overcast cloud layer in a steep nose down attitude just before it impacted the ocean. The airplane and the pilot were not recovered from the water. According to acquaintances, the pilot had recently began to get into flying again. On a medical certificate dated 4 months prior to the accident, the pilot reported 0 flight hours in the preceding 6 months. The pilot's flight time records were not located and the investigation could not establish the pilot's recent flying experience or instrument currency. According to the weather observations and reports, the tops of the overcast layer were 2,000 feet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.