Cessna 172N accident near Tehachapi, California, November 20, 1992
On November 20, 1992 at about 2:05 am local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N737WZ, was destroyed in an accident near Tehachapi, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S DECISION TO CRUISE AT AN ALTITUDE INADEQUATE TO ENSURE TERRAIN CLEARANCE. FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO OBTAIN A PREFLIGHT WEATHER BRIEFING, THE DARK NIGHT, AND LIKELY INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 20, 1992 · about 2:05 am local time
- Place
- Tehachapi, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N737WZ · no longer on the register · serial 17269743
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED INTO A 7,800-FT MOUNTAIN AT THE 6,400-FT LEVEL, APRX 1 MI NORTH OF A PLANNED ROUTE. THE PILOT HAD FLOWN THE COURSE OVER 100 TIMES DURING THE PREVIOUS 6 MONTHS. WITNESSES REPORTED THAT INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED OVER THE MOUNTAINOUS FLIGHT ROUTE. THE PILOT HAD ON PREVIOUS OCCASIONS GIVEN DUAL INSTRUMENT FLIGHT INSTRUCTION TO PASSENGERS DURING AIR TAXI CARGO FLIGHTS IN IMC. EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT BOTH OCCUPANTS SURVIVED THE CRASH; THE FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST WHO PERFORMED THE AUTOPSIES REPORTED THAT THE OCCUPANTS MIGHT HAVE SURVIVED IF THEY HAD BEEN PROMPTLY RESCUED. AN ELT SIGNAL WAS FIRST HEARD AT 1815. AT 1900 THE FAA RCVD A TELEPHONE CALL FROM A CONCERNED RELATIVE OF THE PILOT. AT 1956 A NAVY PILOT REPORTED THAT HE HAD PICKED UP A MAYDAY CALL. THE RESCUE COORDINATION CENTER AT SCOTT AFB OPENED THE INCIDENT CASE FOR THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE FOLLOWING RECEIPT OF NOTIFICATION FROM THE FAA AT 2001. THE WRECKAGE WAS FOUND THE FOLLOWING DAY AT 1735.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,300 hours in all; 103 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,956 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 16, 1992; 90 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: WJF Lancaster CA at 1:25 am
- Destination: BFL Bakersfield CA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 240° at 20 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 7,500 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:46 am from WJF, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.