Grumman American Avn AA-5B N4537Y

Summary

On 19 August 2023 at about 02:10 local time, a Grumman American Avn AA-5B registered N4537Y was involved in an accident near Lone Pine, California, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 August 2023 at 02:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Lone Pine, California, United States

Coordinates

36.2267, -118.1661

Aircraft

Grumman American Avn AA-5B

Registration

N4537Y

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Monica → Santa Monica

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR23LA322

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's inability to maintain altitude after encountering a downdraft, which resulted in collision with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, while conducting a low pass over an off-airport landing strip at an altitude of 100 ft above the ground, the airplane encountered a downdraft. The pilot felt the airplane was unable to climb out of the valley without stalling, so he maintained airspeed, but the airplane descended and impacted the ground. The airplane subsequently rebounded and came to a rest in an upright position, which resulted in substantial damage to both wings, fuselage, and empennage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.