American General Aircraft AG5B accident near Van Nuys, California, November 13, 1999
On November 13, 1999 at about 1:38 am local time, a American General Aircraft AG5B, registered N1195L, was substantially damaged in an accident near Van Nuys, California (Van Nuys airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's encounter with unknown and unanticipated wake turbulence from a heavy transport aircraft, which was landing at another airport. A factor in the accident was the tower controller's failure to repeat a previously broadcast wake turbulence cautionary advisory when the aircraft later checked in on tower frequency.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 13, 1999 · about 1:38 am local time · cases in 1999
- Place
- Van Nuys, California · Van Nuys · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- American General Aircraft AG5B
- Registration
- N1195L · registry record · serial 10095
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The outboard 1/3 of the aircraft's left wing was deformed upward about 5 degrees with respect to the inboard section during an encounter with wake turbulence while on downwind leg for landing. The upper wing skins of both wings exhibited compression buckling, and the mass balance weights on both ailerons were separated and fell from the aircraft. The pilot reported that the flight was unremarkable until, while downwind for landing, there was an instantaneous jolt of sudden severe turbulence that ended before he could take any action. Data obtained from the airport noise abatement office showed that 2 minutes 23 seconds prior to the encounter, a heavy transport aircraft passed over the location on an ILS approach to another airport 6 miles away; the transport airplane was about 500 feet higher than the accident airplane as it crossed the location. The air traffic control tower at the airport where the accident occurred made a wake turbulence cautionary broadcast to all aircraft 30 seconds prior to when the accident aircraft first contacted the tower for landing. The cautionary broadcast was not repeated.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,068 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 5,750 as pilot in command; 4,700 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,022 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 17, 1998; 54 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4K (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: D&S Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: VNY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 16L, 4,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:51 am from VNY, 1 miles away
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N1195L on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4K 44 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Van Nuys Airport · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in California 9,080 since 1982 · 1,096 in the last ten years
- California 28,112 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/LAX00LA035.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.