Cessna 310R accident near La Jolla, California, February 8, 1994
On February 8, 1994 at about 3:36 am local time, a Cessna 310R, registered N1976Y, was destroyed in an accident near La Jolla, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane. Factors in the accident were the dark night lighting conditions, moderate to severe turbulence, and heavy rain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 8, 1994 · about 3:36 am local time
- Place
- La Jolla, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 310R · all 310Rs on the register
- Registration
- N1976Y · no longer on the register · serial 310R-0041
- 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 PILOT RECEIVED 2 WEATHER BRIEFINGS AND WAS INFORMED THAT VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR, PRECIPITATION, OCCASIONAL MODERATE TURBULENCE AND ISOLATED SEVERE TURBULENCE WAS FORECAST. MULTIPLE CLOUD LAYERS EXISTED; IT WAS A DARK NIGHT. THE PILOT DEPARTED CARRYING BANK CARGO AND BEGAN CLIMBING IN IMC TO 6,000 FEET IN A N-W DIRECTION PARALLELING THE COASTLINE. NEARBY, A PILOT IN ANOTHER LIGHT AIRPLANE EXPERIENCED MODERATE TURBULENCE AND HEAVY RAIN. THE ACCIDENT PILOT COMMENCED A S-W TURN INITIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE DESIRED COURSE. THEN, WHILE CONTINUING THE LEFT TURN RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST AS THE AIRPLANE SUDDENLY COMMENCED AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT FROM 4,400 FEET TO SEA LEVEL IN ABOUT 1/4 MINUTE. THE MAIN WRECKAGE WAS FOUND 1,000 FEET BELOW SEA LEVEL ABOUT 0.2 MILES FROM ITS LAST RADAR POSITION. UNDERWATER VIDEO SHOWED THAT THE AIRPLANE HAD FRAGMENTED INTO OVER 200 PIECES. THE WRECKAGE 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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all; 90 in the last 90 days; 1,250 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,829 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 9, 1994; 57 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-M1 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Pacific Air Charter, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: MYF San Diego CA at 3:31 am
- Destination: BUR Burbank CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 200° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,100 ft; scat at 600 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:55 am from NKX, 7 miles away
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.