Beechcraft D35 N2086D

Summary

On 22 April 2000 at about 03:03 local time, a Beechcraft D35 registered N2086D, operated by Robert R. Kelsey, was involved in an accident near Agua Dulce, 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

22 April 2000 at 03:03

Classification

Accident

Location

Agua Dulce, California, United States

Coordinates

34.4292, -118.5105

Aircraft

Beechcraft D35

Registration

N2086D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Robert R. Kelsey

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Paula → Chandler

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX00FA168

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain terrain clearance while cruising up a mountain pass, on a dark night, in IMC conditions, and his improper in-flight decision to perform a VFR flight in the inclement weather.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

On a dark night, en route from California to Arizona, the pilot cruised into rising terrain in a mountain pass. The crash site, elevation 3,560 feet mean sea level (msl), was adjacent to and about 0.5 miles north of a state highway, elevation 3,000. An overcast sky condition existed with cloud bases between 3,200 and 3,400 feet msl. No one reported witnessing the accident. A hillside resident located about 1/3-mile downslope from the crash site reported that, about the time of the accident, his 3,200-foot msl home was shrouded in ground fog. The pilot was instrument rated but was not current. His last logged instrument flight was 7 years earlier. The FAA reported that the pilot did not file a flight plan, obtain a weather briefing, or communicate with any FAA facility during the flight. The on-scene wreckage examination revealed the airplane initially impacted upsloping terrain in a near level flight attitude. The airplane came to rest upside down about 750 feet from the initial point of ground impact. No evidence of mechanical malfunction was found with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.