Cessna 337 N143JB

Summary

On 20 April 2022 at about 19:26 local time, a Cessna 337 registered N143JB was involved in an accident near Sylmar, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 April 2022 at 19:26

Classification

Accident

Location

Sylmar, California, United States

Nearest airport

Whiteman Airport (WHP)

Coordinates

34.3110, -118.4319

Aircraft

Cessna 337

Registration

N143JB

Category

Airplane

Year built

1965

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Los Angeles → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR22FA160

1 person died.

The pilot’s loss of airplane control while troubleshooting a landing gear issue, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin at an altitude too low to recover. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s impairment from alcohol consumption.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Shortly after takeoff, the pilot reported to the tower controller that he was not able to retract the airplane’s landing gear and requested to circle the airport at 2,500 ft. The airplane climbed to and remained at about 2,000 ft for about 2 minutes before entering a descent that continued until ground contact. Witnesses saw the airplane descending in a steep, nose-down attitude, and a surveillance video showed the airplane rotating in a nose-down attitude as it collided with terrain. Examination of the airframe and engines revealed no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Toxicology testing of the pilot revealed 65 (mg/dL, mg/hg) ethanol in blood, 133 (mg/dL, mg/hg) ethanol in urine, and 10 (mg/dL, mg/hg) glucose in vitreous fluid. The ethanol production was not attributed to putrefaction. Based on the levels found and their distribution, it is likely that the pilot’s blood ethanol concentrations were around 0.12 gm/dL. It is likely that, while trying to troubleshoot the landing gear issue, the pilot allowed the airplane to slow and exceed its critical angle of attack. The airplane subsequently entered a spin from which the pilot was not able to recover. Given the levels of ethanol found in toxicology testing, the pilot would have likely experienced degradation of judgment, reasoning, and coordination that would have affected his ability to safely manage the airplane, and it is likely that his impairment due to alcohol consumption contributed to his loss of control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.