Cessna A150M accident near Trinity Center, California, July 31, 2005
On July 31, 2005 at about 11:15 pm local time, a Cessna A150M, registered N8166V, was destroyed in an accident near Trinity Center, California (Trinity Center Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to select an adequate altitude, which would assure clearance from the mountainous terrain while flying into a box canyon in high density altitude conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 31, 2005 · about 11:15 pm local time
- Place
- Trinity Center, California · Trinity Center Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A150M · all A150Ms on the register
- Registration
- N8166V · no longer on the register · serial A1500552
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane collided with mountainous terrain during an en route climb on a course that took it into a box canyon. After a day of physical exertion, the pilot departed from the airport and headed for a pass in mountainous terrain. He noted that the temperature at the 2,390-foot mean sea level (msl) airport was about 90-degrees Fahrenheit. As he approached the pass, about 20 minutes into the flight, he realized that deceptively level-looking terrain below was in actuality the relatively steep walls of a narrowing canyon. The pilot noted the air becoming more turbulent and an increase in downdraft conditions. He attempted to maneuver the airplane out of the canyon, but did not have adequate altitude and made a forced landing onto a logging road, at an elevation of about 6,000 feet msl. Prior to touchdown, the left wing impacted a tree and the airplane subsequently landed hard on the road. The pilot egressed the airplane as it became engulfed in flames. The pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. Using the standard lapse rate of 3-degrees Celsius per 1,000 feet of altitude, the density altitude was calculated to be about 8,600 feet at the accident site.
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: 396 hours in all; 215 in this make and model; 38 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: O86 Trinity Center CA at 3:50 pm
- Destination: O46 Weed CA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 10:56 pm from MHS, 26 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.
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.