Avions Robin R.2160 accident near Avalon, California, August 31, 2005
On August 31, 2005 at about 7:50 pm local time, a Avions Robin R.2160, registered N216RN, was destroyed in an accident near Avalon, California. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor's unsuccessful recovery from a spin. The underlying reason was not determined.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 31, 2005 · about 7:50 pm local time
- Place
- Avalon, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Avions Robin R.2160
- Registration
- N216RN · no longer on the register · serial 200
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane impacted the water following an intentional spin, that was not recovered from. According to the surviving student pilot, the instructor was demonstrating a hammerhead maneuver followed by what the student believed was a loop and then a spin. The airplane began "violently spinning towards the water." The student believed he counted 7 or 8 spins to the right, but wasn't positive about the direction. He realized they were spinning too much and were rapidly losing altitude. The instructor told the student to remove his feet from the rudder pedals, and the student complied. The instructor continued with his attempt to stop the spin, to no avail. The instructor then called for a bailout and jettisoned the canopy. The student managed to successfully bailout of the airplane and felt the vertical stabilizer rush past him. He observed the airplane impact the water below him and noticed the instructor's parachute deployed and in the water. The instructor was fatally injured and had a "deep laceration of the right upper chest extending to the right shoulder". Post-accident examination of the instructor's parachute revealed no anomalies that would have prevented its full deployment. Considering the facts that the student successfully bailed out of the airplane before the instructor did, that the instructor's parachute had been deployed and was in the water before the student reached the water, and the instructor's injuries, it is likely that the instructor struck and became ensnared on a portion of the airplane during the bailout. The wreckage was not recovered, therefore, the reason for the instructor's inability to recover from the spin could not be determined.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,309 hours in all; 95 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: October 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 310 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,562.1 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 2005; 7.7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,764 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LGB Long Beach CA at 7:21 pm
- Destination: AVX Catalina CA
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 29.87 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from LGB
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.