Cessna 182P accident near Tom'S Place, California, January 13, 1990
On January 13, 1990 at about 4:37 am local time, a Cessna 182P, registered N5831J, was destroyed in an accident near Tom'S Place, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
CONTINUED FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT ALTITUDE ABOVE THE GROUND. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARK NIGHT, ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, SELF INDUCED PRESSURE, AND SPATIAL DISORIENTATION.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 13, 1990 · about 4:37 am local time
- Place
- Tom'S Place, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182P · all 182Ps on the register
- Registration
- N5831J · no longer on the register · serial 18263559
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT HAD A CABIN NR MAMMOTH/JUNE LAKES ARPT & OFTEN FLEW THERE ON WEEKENDS. WHILE ON A NGT FLT, HE COMMUNICATED WITH AN OUTBOUND CARGO PLT, WHO WARNED OF HVY SNW FALL & POOR VIS AT THE ARPT. WHILE CONVERSING, THE PLT OF N5831J REPLIED, 'OH DEAR, MY CAR IS UP THERE.' THE CARGO PLT AGAIN WARNED THAT HE DOUBTED IF N5831J COULD LND AT THE ARPT. A WORKER, WHO LEFT THE ARPT AT 2030 PST, NOTED THE RWY LGTS CAME ON AS HE WAS DRIVING HOME. HE BELIEVED THE LGTS WERE ACTIVATED BY A PLT (BY KEYING THE MIKE 5 TIMES ON UNICOM FREQ). THREE WITNESSES SAW THE ACFT (OR ACFT LGTS) AT ABOUT THE TIME IT CRASHED. IMPACT OCCURRED IN A LEFT WING LOW, NOSE DWN ATTITUDE. ONE WITNESS THOUGHT THE ACFT WAS TURNING OR ARCING WHEN IT CRASHED. ANOTHER WITNESS ESTIMATED THERE WAS A 100' CEILING WITH SNW FALLING ON A DARK NGT. IMPACT WAS ABOUT 1 MI FM A HIWAY BTN MAMMOTH LAKES & BISHOP, CA (ABT 10 MI SE OF MAMMOTH/JUNE LAKES ARPT & 17 MI NW OF BISHOP ARPT). NO PREIMPACTPART FAILURE/MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT OR ENG WAS FND. THERE WAS NO PUBLISHED INST APCH PROC AT MAMMOTH/JUNE LAKES ARPT.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 2,683 hours in all; 531 in this make and model; 42 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,659 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 9, 1989
- Maximum gross weight: 2,950 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-S (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: CPM Compton CA at 8:00 am
- Destination: MMH Mammoth Lake CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: not recorded at 100 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.