Cessna 152 N69000

Summary

On 4 April 2002 at about 05:05 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N69000 was involved in an accident near Lake Elsinore, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 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

4 April 2002 at 05:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Lake Elsinore, California, United States

Coordinates

33.6803, -117.3706

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N69000

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Long Beach → Murrieta

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

LAX02LA124

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot lost awareness of his location and collided with trees. Factors in the accident were the mountainous terrain and night conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane collided with terrain while in cruise flight. The pilot completed three takeoff and landings at Long Beach, and departed for the French Valley Airport at Murrieta, California. He pilot followed the 91 Freeway eastbound and turned southbound to follow Interstate 15. As he started to climb from 2,600 feet, he obtained the Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS) information for French Valley. He noticed that he was off course, but was unable to see any ground visual references. He turned on the landing and taxi lights and tuned in two VOR (very high frequency omni-directional radio range) stations to try and determine his position. He was scanning for ground references and suddenly noted trees in his flight path. He applied full forward throttle and started a climb; however, the airplane collided with trees on mountainous terrain. The occupants were rescued the following morning.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.