Cessna 172N accident near Compton, California, March 7, 2006
On March 7, 2006 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N739NU, was substantially damaged in an accident near Compton, California (Compton airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
control interference by the student pilot during a go-around that resulted in an in-flight collision with power lines.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 7, 2006 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Compton, California · Compton · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N739NU · no longer on the register · serial 17270681
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane collided with power lines during an attempted go-around and came to rest inverted on a nearby roadway. Following an encounter with turbulence during landing level off the student pilot grabbed the controls firmly and did not release them to the instructor. The airplane drifted left toward parked aircraft and hangars. The instructor added full power to initiate a go-around, but still could not get the student to release his hold on the controls. The airplane cleared the hangars and continued to drift left when the landing gear contacted power lines and the airplane descended nose first into the street below.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 464 hours in all; 31 in this make and model; 62 in the last 90 days; 47 in the last 30 days; 340 as pilot in command; 100 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: minor injuries
Dual student
- Flight time: 5 hours in all; 3 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,986.6 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 1, 2005; 81.4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CPM Compton CA
- Destination: Compton CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25L, 3,322 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from KLGB, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.