Amateur-built AA5B accident near Aguanga, California, April 18, 1998
On April 18, 1998 at about 3:05 am local time, a amateur-built AA5B, registered N28565, was substantially damaged in an accident near Aguanga, California (Lake Riverside Estates airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the lack of available published information regarding obstructions and nonstandard lighting at the private airport, and the lack of a lighted and properly marked displaced threshold.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 18, 1998 · about 3:05 am local time
- Place
- Aguanga, California · Lake Riverside Estates · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AA5B
- Registration
- N28565 · registry record · serial AA5B0684
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The maintenance technician/pilot was returning the airplane to its owner located on a private airstrip after an annual inspection. He stated that he entered the traffic pattern by overflying the airport at 2000 (dusk), and entering on the 45 for the downwind to runway 28. As he lined up with the runway he said that he looked down at the airspeed indicator and heard a 'kunk,' at which point he noticed that the propeller had stopped. The pilot then noticed some power lines in his path, and at the same time he noticed the runway lights flicker and go out. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed a 3- to 4-inch gash in the spinner and some marks on one propeller blade, which the pilot said 'looked like it had scraped on something.' The pilot reported 'apparently there are two rows of power lines and somehow I hit a wire on the first row.' A maintenance worker reported that none of the power lines were broken, but one had been pulled out of its support. There were no charts or publications available to the pilot to warn him of the power lines. There were no visible displaced threshold markings on the dirt strip to indicate an obstructed 20:1 or 3-degree approach to runway 28. The runway had nonstandard lighting with six red/green lights at both thresholds. Official sunset had occurred about 1924.
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: 1,085 hours in all; 1,051 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,099 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 17, 1998; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4K (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: WJF Lancaster CA at 2:15 am
- Destination: NONE
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 3,500 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under N28565 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.