Amateur-built CHRISTIAN EAGLE II accident near White Water, California, April 22, 2001
On April 22, 2001 at about 10:40 pm local time, a amateur-built CHRISTIAN EAGLE II, registered N32MJ, was destroyed in an accident near White Water, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate clearance from the power lines during an intentional low level flight.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 22, 2001 · about 10:40 pm local time · cases in 2001
- Place
- White Water, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built CHRISTIAN EAGLE II
- Registration
- N32MJ · registry record · serial HOLT0001
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane collided with power lines while flying at low level in a desert canyon. A witness reported seeing the airplane flying at a low altitude in level flight in a canyon. The airplane banked right, rolled level, and then banked left. During the left bank, the right wing impacted power lines and pieces of the airplane separated. The airplane then spiraled to the ground. The engine sound did not change.
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: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,037 hours in all; 102 in this make and model
- Last flight review: July 2, 1999
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 599 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 2001
- Maximum gross weight: 1,578 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PSP Palm Springs CA at 10:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from PSP, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N32MJ on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Engine: Rotax · as the NTSB recorded it
- Palm Springs International · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in California 9,080 since 1982 · 1,094 in the last ten years
- California 28,279 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/LAX01LA153.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.