Cessna 152 accident near Avalon, California, October 1, 1998
On October 1, 1998 at about 1:35 am local time, a Cessna 152, registered N49770, was destroyed in an accident near Avalon, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance. Contributing to the accident were the hilly and mountainous terrain and glare from the setting sun.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 1, 1998 · about 1:35 am local time
- Place
- Avalon, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N49770 · no longer on the register · serial 83509
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot intended to complete a local flight around Santa Catalina Island. Friends indicated the pilot was starting an aerial photography business. One friend, a photographer, flew a previous photographic flight around the island with the pilot and stated they flew well below the level of the mountaintops. The airplane collided with upsloping terrain at an elevation of approximately 1,440 feet mean sea level (msl). The accident site was at the apex of a peak less than 1/2 mile east of the highest point, Silver Peak, 1,804 feet msl, on Santa Catalina Island's western peninsula. The shoreline (sea level) was less than a mile to the right of the flight path. The debris field was about 120 feet long on a magnetic heading of 315 degrees. This roughly paralleled the ridgeline in this area. There were no witnesses. The hour meter indicated 0.8 hours elapsed during the flight. The airplane was discovered the following morning by a Coast Guard helicopter investigating an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal. Sunset was at 1844. Inclination of the sun was 1.9, 1.0, and 0.1 degrees at 1830, 1835, and 1840 respectively. The sun's azimuth was 250.8, 251.5, and 252.2, respectively.
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: single-engine land
- Flight time: 120 hours in all; 69 in this make and model; 11 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 42 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,608 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 26, 1998; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Orange County Flight Center
The flight
- Departed from: SNA Santa Ana CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 300 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:46 am from AVX, 8 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.