Cessna 172H accident near San Diego, California, December 12, 2000
On December 12, 2000 at about 3:30 am local time, a Cessna 172H, registered N4959R, was substantially damaged in an accident near San Diego, California (Brown Field). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and weather evaluation that resulted in the inadvertant entry into instrument meteorological conditions while conducting visual flight. A factor was fog and the night visual conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 12, 2000 · about 3:30 am local time
- Place
- San Diego, California · Brown Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172H · all 172Hs on the register
- Registration
- N4959R · no longer on the register · serial 172-56280
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot filed a visual flight plan to practice night landings. He contacted the tower about 1930, when approximately 5 miles west of the airport, and reported inbound for touch-and-go landings. The pilot was instructed to enter a right downwind for runway 26R, and to change to the correct frequency. The pilot said he did not have the current Automated Terminal Information Service (ATIS) for weather information, and was given the current weather after he changed frequencies. The controller noticed the airplane just west of "Poggi" VOR (2.3 nautical miles north of the runways), and it appeared to be headed northbound away from the airport. The controller asked the pilot if he had the airport in sight and he responded he did not, but that he was practicing some maneuvers and was a little busy in the cockpit. A couple of minutes later the airplane was observed to be about 7 miles north. The controller advised the pilot to report the prison if he was still inbound for a right base entry for runway 26R. The next readable transmission from the airplane was "encountering some soup." According to the operator, upon entering clouds, the pilot started a 75 mph climb, followed by a right turn just before impact. The pilot did not respond to additional calls from the controller and was no longer observed on the D-Brite radar system. The airplane had collided with a 2,791-foot mountain about 7 miles north of the intended airport. According to VFR charts, the maximum elevation figure for the accident quadrangle/sector is 4,100 feet mean sea level.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 377 hours in all; 102 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days; 297 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 23, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,148 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 14, 2000; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NZY North Island CA at 3:20 am
- Destination: SDM Brown Field CA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 310° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,000 ft; scat at 1,200 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:00 am from SDM, 7 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.