Cessna T182T accident near Burney, California, May 27, 2006
On May 27, 2006 at about 8:10 pm local time, a Cessna T182T, registered N451JE, was destroyed in an accident near Burney, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's decision to continue VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain clearance from mountainous terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 27, 2006 · about 8:10 pm local time
- Place
- Burney, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T182T · all T182Ts on the register
- Registration
- N451JE · no longer on the register · serial 18208272
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane collided with a mountain while in cruise flight. The airplane became the subject of an alert notification (ALNOT) after Oakland Center (ZOA) lost radar and radio contact with the airplane and pilot. The controller working the flight reported that the pilot had cancelled the IFR portion of his flight at 1239, south of Red Bluff, California. The pilot requested visual flight rules (VFR) flight following for the remainder of the flight to his destination. At 1308, the controller reported a loss of radar and radio contact. There were no reports of a distress call from the pilot. A California Highway Patrol (CHP) air unit located the accident site on May 29, 2006, at 0936. It was at the 8,229-foot mean sea level (msl) elevation of an 8,500-foot mountain. The airplane came to rest on a 45-degree slope on top of 6 feet of an ice/snow pack, with some of the wreckage suspended in the nearby trees. The sheriff's department reported that on Saturday when the accident occurred, it was snowing and cloudy on the mountain. Recorded radar data showed the flight level at a mode C reported 10,000 msl for most of the early flight in the southern half of California. The flight then climbed to 12,000 feet for a short time. At the time the pilot cancelled his IFR clearance with Oakland Center, the radar data showed the flight descending normally to about 8,500 feet and on a straight track to the accident site just before the collision with the mountain. Review of the GEOS Weather Satellite image for the area showed that there was cloud coverage over the accident site at the time of the event. Examination of the wreckage did not discover any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airframe or engine.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 450 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 700 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 1, 2006
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-AK1A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: LGB Long Beach CA at 4:03 pm
- Destination: O89 Fall River Mill CA
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.88 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from RDD
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.