Beech 55 accident near Cedarville, California, January 20, 1996
On January 20, 1996 at about 5:47 am local time, a Beech 55, registered N4088A, was destroyed in an accident near Cedarville, California (Cedarville airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's poor preflight planning by not obtaining a weather briefing and his inadvertent encounter with a mountain wave condition. The moonless dark night was a factor in this accident.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 20, 1996 · about 5:47 am local time
- Place
- Cedarville, California · Cedarville · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Beech 55
- Registration
- N4088A · registry record · serial TE-793
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was operating on a VFR on top IFR clearance when he inadvertently encountered a mountain wave condition while flying in a dark moonless night. The radar data showed that the airplane began a 612 FPM descent for 1,000 feet and then abruptly climbed 300 feet before the airplane's transponder code disappeared from the sector controllers radar screen. The pilot did not make any radio transmissions during the accident sequence of events. The airplane crashed in a vertical nose-down attitude into a lake and was buried about 20 feet in the muddy silt terrain. The wreckage examination disclosed no evidence of an in-flight breakup or any preexisting airplane malfunctions or failures.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 704 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 2, 1996
- Maximum gross weight: 5,300 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PAE Everrett WA at 3:43 am
- Destination: VGT North Las Vegas NV
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds; scat at 2,900 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 4:57 am from LVK, 45 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.