Cessna 140 N9474A

Summary

On 6 February 2020 at about 02:07 local time, a Cessna 140 registered N9474A was involved in an accident near Sonora, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 February 2020 at 02:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Sonora, California, United States

Nearest airport

Columbia (O22)

Coordinates

38.0306, -120.4144

Aircraft

Cessna 140

Registration

N9474A

Category

Airplane

Year built

1949

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Coalinga → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

WPR20FA086

2 people died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from trees during approach for landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot performed an uneventful cross-country flight to take the passenger to a business meeting. He intended to complete the trip during the day (and return to the home airport by 1700), so he would not have to fly at night. Radar data indicated the airplane stopped at four airports before departing for the final leg to the home airport. The final stop included fueling the airplane with approximately 20 gallons of 100 low-lead aviation fuel and departing at 1702. The airplane flew on a northbound heading for about an hour, varying its altitude between 2,000 and 3,000 ft mean sea level (msl) as it continued toward the home airport. When the airplane was about 1.5 nautical miles (nm) from the runway, it turned slightly to the right, consistent with a straight-in approach. It descended gradually until track data were lost about .75 nm from the approach end of the runway. The airplane impacted a tree with its left wing and then continued about 300 ft before coming to rest inverted between two trees. The accident occurred 39 minutes after sunset and 11 minutes after dusk. A witness near the accident site reported that he was working on his ranch when the daylight started to fade. He estimated it was around dusk when he heard a loud bang. He looked toward the noise and saw the airplane for about 3 seconds before he heard another bang, followed by silence. Prior to that, he heard the airplane's engine and noted it was not making any unusual sounds. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The fact that the pilot did not want to fly at night indicated some apprehension on his part, and his night flying experience could not be determined. It is possible the pilot was distracted by the night conditions and unaware of what the approach to the airport looked like at night. He likely did not see the tree along the flightpath before the airplane’s impact.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.