Cessna 150K accident near 9 SW Santa Barb, California, April 20, 1982
On April 20, 1982 at about 8:00 am local time, a Cessna 150K, registered N5847G, was destroyed in an accident near 9 SW Santa Barb, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 20, 1982 · about 8:00 am local time
- Place
- 9 SW Santa Barb, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150K · all 150Ks on the register
- Registration
- N5847G · no longer on the register · serial 71347
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ENGINE LOST POWER WHILE THE PILOT WAS SPOTTING FISH AT NIGHT. HE WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE OR GLIDE BACK TO THE SHORE. THE PLANE WAS DITCHED ABOUT 3 1/2 MILES FROM THE SHORE AND WAS NOT RECOVERED.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 135 in the last 90 days; 85 in the last 30 days; 9,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,000 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 100 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SBA Santa Barbara CA at 11:15 pm
- Destination: SBA Santa Barbara CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 124°F (51°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.