Cessna 182A accident near San Diego, California, September 16, 2002
On September 16, 2002 at about 3:20 pm local time, a Cessna 182A, registered N3951D, was substantially damaged in an accident near San Diego, California (San Diego International Airpor airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain adequate clearance to avoid jet exhaust due to his improperly planned approach and inadequate in-flight decision to perform a long landing rollout, which placed the airplane in proximity to an area of observed high velocity jet exhaust.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 16, 2002 · about 3:20 pm local time
- Place
- San Diego, California · San Diego International Airpor · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182A · all 182As on the register
- Registration
- N3951D · no longer on the register · serial 34651
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the landing rollout the accident airplane passed behind a MD-11, which was beginning to move forward, and nosed over onto its back. The accident pilot had diverted from his intended destination due to weather. When he arrived at the accident airport, the local controller advised him that he was number 2 for landing behind a MD-11. The local controller instructed him to do two 360-degree turns on downwind for spacing and to land beyond the touchdown point of the MD-11. On final approach, the local controller asked the accident pilot if he had observed where the MD-11 had touched down, which was at the 1,000-foot marker. The pilot indicated that he had, and would plan, his touchdown point beyond that. After the MD-11 landed, it exited the runway at taxiway B-5 and was holding perpendicular to the runway awaiting ground control clearance, with the tail end of the airplane facing the runway. Tower personnel indicated that the accident airplane touched down at taxiway B-3, about 2,000 feet down the runway, and beyond the MD-11's touchdown point. The MD-11 had started to move very slowly off the taxiway prior to the accident airplane passing behind it. On the landing rollout the tail of the accident airplane started to oscillate up and down after passing behind the tail end of the MD-11. The oscillations continued to increase, and on the third oscillation it nosed over and came to rest inverted. Tower personnel reported that the MD-11 was off the runway prior to the accident airplane being cleared to land, and there was no part of the airplane protruding over the runway during the landing rollout of the accident airplane. The accident airplane touched down near taxiway B3, about the 2,000-foot marker, and continued a long rollout towards taxiway B5 where the MD-11 had exited. The measured distance between taxiway B3 and taxiway B5 is 2,054 feet. In the performance section of the Federal Aviation Administration approved flight manual, at standard sea level pressure and temperature, and 2,100 pounds gross weight, the airplane's landing ground rollout distance over a 50-foot obstacle should have been 445 feet. At a gross weight of 2,650 pounds, the landing ground rollout should have been 560 feet.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 380 hours in all; 360 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 150 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,730 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 12, 2002; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 0L7 Jean NV at 12:45 pm
- Destination: SAN San Diego CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 9,400 ft by 200 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,200 ft; clear
- Temperature: 151°F (66°C), dew point 142°F (61°C)
- Altimeter: 29.88 inHg
- Observation at 4:39 pm from SAN
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.
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.