ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 26910
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| Date: | Sunday 11 August 2002 |
| Time: | 01:23 |
| Type: |  Rockwell Aero Commander 690A |
| Owner/operator: | Thomas F. Reid |
| Registration: | N690TB |
| MSN: | 11109 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1973 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3782 hours |
| Engine model: | Airesearch TPE331-5-251K |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Bishop, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Oakland International Airport, CA (OAK/KOAK) |
| Bishop Airport, CA (BIH/KBIH) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On August 11, 2002, about 0123 Pacific daylight time, an Aero Commander 690A, N690TB, descended into terrain near the Bishop Airport, Bishop, California. The accident occurred during a descending turn between the base and the final approach legs in the airport's traffic pattern. The airplane was destroyed. The commercial certificated pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was owned by the pilot who was operating it under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed during the dark, nighttime flight, and no flight plan had been filed. The accident flight departed from Oakland, California, on August 11, about 0031.
The pilot entered the left-hand traffic pattern at an uncontrolled airport on a dark moonless night. Witnesses reported observing the airplane in a left descending turn. As the airplane turned onto the base leg, its left bank angle suddenly became steep. The airplane rapidly descended until colliding with level desert terrain 1.63 nm from runway 30's threshold. There were no ground reference lights in the accident site area. An examination of the airplane structure, control systems, engines, and propellers did not reveal any evidence of preimpact malfunctions or failures. Signatures consistent with engine power were found in both the engines and the propellers. The wreckage examination revealed that the airplane descended into the terrain in a left wing and nose low attitude. Fragmentation evidence, consisting of the left navigation light lens and left propeller spinner, was found near the initial point of impact. The wreckage was found principally distributed along a 307- to 310-degree bearing, over a 617-foot-long path. The bearing between the initial point of impact and the runway threshold was 319 degrees. The pilot's total logged experience in the accident airplane was 52 hours, of which only 1.6 hours were at night. The pilot was familiar with the area, but he had made only two nighttime landings within the preceding 90 days. Review of the recorded ATC communications tapes did not reveal any evidence of pilot impairment during voice communications with the pilot.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain an appropriate terrain clearance altitude while maneuvering in the traffic pattern due to the sensory and visual illusions created by a lack of ground reference lights and/or terrain conspicuity, and the dark nighttime conditions.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20020819X01425&key=1
Location
Images:
Photos: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 12-Feb-2012 01:22 | Gwydd | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Location, Source] |
| 10-Jul-2013 16:07 | wf | Updated [Location, Phase, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:14 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:16 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:20 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 09-Dec-2017 17:16 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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