Cessna 172N accident near Julian, California, February 20, 1996
On February 20, 1996 at about 4:14 am local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N738ED, was destroyed in an accident near Julian, 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 delay in requesting assistance to avoid high terrain. Factors were: the downdrafts, mountainous terrain, and the pilot's improper in-flight planning.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 20, 1996 · about 4:14 am local time
- Place
- Julian, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N738ED · no longer on the register · serial 17269912
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight was operating in visual conditions on an instrument flight plan at night. The pilot informed ATC that he was having difficulty maintaining his assigned altitude in downdrafts as his course converged on the lee side of the mountain ridge line. As he approached the VORTAC, located on a peak on the ridge line, the downdraft intensity increased and he was unable to maintain the en route MEA and the aircraft descended into an undercast cloud layer. The pilot requested vectors out of the downdraft but the aircraft impacted the face of the ridge 300 feet below the crest. A pilot following in another aircraft reported that conditions were clear and visibility unrestricted over lower terrain away from the ridge.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,000 hours in all; 1,500 in this make and model; 75 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,805 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 10, 1996; 17 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: IPL El Centro CA at 3:40 am
- Destination: CRQ Carlsbad CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:00 am from NKX, 37 miles away
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.