Plane Crash List

Cessna 152 N68763

15 February 2001 · Long Beach, California, United States · Fatal

Summary

On 15 February 2001 at about 23:40 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N68763, operated by Candace A. Larned Enterprises, Inc., was involved in an accident near Long Beach, California, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

The record

Date
at 23:40
Classification
Accident
Location
Long Beach, California, United States
Coordinates
33.7169, -118.1811
Aircraft
Cessna 152
Registration
N68763
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Candace A. Larned Enterprises, Inc.
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Instructional
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Long Beach → Long Beach
Aircraft damage
Destroyed
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
LAX01FA101

People

4 people died.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
4 4 0 0 0

Probable cause

The failure of the flight crews of both airplanes to maintain adequate visual lookout for traffic.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A midair collision occurred between the Cessna 152 and a Cessna 172, which were flying between 800 and 1,000 feet above the ocean in an established student training practice area. The flight instructors and their respective students lost control of their airplanes, which descended into the ocean and sank. An eyewitness in a ship observed the airplanes seconds prior to the collision. The witness stated that "one plane appeared to bank and turn directly into the other plane." Another witness, who was airborne in a helicopter, reported that before the impact he had observed one of the airplanes performing counterclockwise orbits, like a turn about a point ground reference maneuver. This airplane had completed several circles when it collided with another airplane that was flying in a westerly direction. Neither the Cessna 152's empennage nor the Cessna 172's engine was recovered. Radar tracks for the airplanes could not be determined. The collision occurred in a near head-on trajectory, based upon the severity of the impact damage to the leading edge of the Cessna 152's right wing, the lack of impact damage in the Cessna 172's aft fuselage and empennage, the witness statements, and the locations where the airplanes were found (the Cessna 152 was west of the Cessna 172).

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Aircraft involved

Aircraft Registration Operator Damage
Cessna 152 N68763 Candace A. Larned Enterprises, Inc. Destroyed
Cessna 172N N4686G Candace A. Larned Enterprises, Inc. Destroyed

Other Cessna 152 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
10 Nov 2001 Cessna 152
N5195B
Corning, New York, United States - No injuries -
24 Jul 2001 Cessna 152
N48228
Gallipolis, Ohio, United States - No injuries -
17 Aug 2001 Cessna 152
N757PZ
Newark, Ohio, United States - No injuries -
14 Mar 2001 Cessna 152
N757GP
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States - Minor injuries -
7 May 2001 Cessna 152
N757XS
Hayward, California, United States - No injuries -
31 Oct 2001 Cessna 152
N93550
Elberton, Georgia, United States - No injuries -

All 3,030 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
21 Jul 2001 Hughes 269C
N5015V
Tracy, California, United States - No injuries -
21 Jul 2001 Cessna R172K
N736YR
Mammoth Lakes, California, United States - Serious injuries -
14 Jun 2001 Piper PA-46-350P
N70SL
Stockton, California, United States - No injuries -
7 Mar 2001 Jones RV-6A
N46KA
Inyokern, California, United States - Fatal 2
2 May 2001 Cessna 177B
N34168
Santa Maria, California, United States - Minor injuries -
8 Mar 2001 Cessna 140
N77J
San Jose, California, United States - No injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States