Amateur-built AA-5A accident near Banning, California, December 29, 1996
On December 29, 1996 at about 7:15 pm local time, a amateur-built AA-5A, registered N9944U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Banning, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's intentional low flight in an area of foothills and canyons at an altitude insufficient to maintain clearance from obstacles.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 29, 1996 · about 7:15 pm local time
- Place
- Banning, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AA-5A
- Registration
- N9944U · no longer on the register · serial AA5A-0344
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot told responding police officers that he was flying to the Banning airport to refuel when the engine began to sputter. He further stated that he was in the process of changing fuel tanks and did not see the high tension power lines. The officers reported that the accident site was in a canyon in the foothills north of the city. The power lines struck by the aircraft hang below the elevation of the canyon ridges where the towers are located. The lines are not marked. Several ground witnesses, including an off-duty Banning police sergeant, reported that they observed the aircraft flying low in the canyons near the accident site for at least a 15-minute period before the aircraft collided with power lines. Police officers at the accident site reported that they were concerned because fuel was leaking from both fuel tanks and posed a threat to a nearby stream.
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: 860 hours in all; 49 in the last 90 days; 820 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,284 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 1, 1996; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2G (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: L12 Redlands CA at 6:50 pm
- Destination: BNG Banning CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 18,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:47 pm from BNG, 5 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.