Cessna 525 accident near San Diego, California, December 5, 2003
On December 5, 2003 at about 4:15 am local time, a Cessna 525, registered N15C, was substantially damaged in an accident near San Diego, California (San Diego airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control and to initiate a timely go-around when visual contact with the runway was lost.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 5, 2003 · about 4:15 am local time
- Place
- San Diego, California · San Diego · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 525 · all 525s on the register
- Registration
- N15C · registry record · serial 0377
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane veered off the runway during a night landing in instrument conditions and collided with ground obstructions. The weather conditions included a visibility of less than 1/4-mile in fog, with a vertical visibility of 100 feet. The pilot stated he was able to see the field while intercepting the instrument approach course at 3,000 feet msl. Using instruments for the approach, he was still able to maintain visual contact through the 100- to 200-foot-thick layer of fog, when he reached 200 feet agl. After descending, he lost visual contact with the runway, and everything became black. He started to move the levers up for a go-around, but noticed two red lights to his left. He thought he was too close to the ground and too slow, so he decided to land. The airplane touched down on the runway a second or two later. The pilot did not maintain directional control and the airplane veered to the left. It crossed an unpaved area, then hit and crossed a taxiway. The pavement lip edge broke the nose wheel off. The airplane continued onto another unpaved area and came to rest. It was about 50 feet to the left of runway 28R, and about 100 feet to the right of runway 5. The airplane also incurred damage to the nose gear fork assembly, pressure vessel, and to frame members. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented had he initiated a go-around when he lost visual contact with the runway. He reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,250 hours in all; 1,004 in this make and model; 88 in the last 90 days; 26 in the last 30 days; 3,029 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 19, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Other crew
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 100 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 850 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 100 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,700 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Williams International FJ44-1A (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Williams International FJ44-1A (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KEUG Eugene OR at 2:00 am
- Destination: MYF San Diego CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 28R, 4,577 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 350° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 0.2 statute miles
- Sky: vv at 100 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 4:18 am from MYF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number LAX04LA058.