Cessna 172L accident near Santa Paula, California, January 26, 1999
On January 26, 1999, a Cessna 172L, registered N7639G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Santa Paula, California (Santa Paula airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The instructor pilot's misjudged altitude and speed, which resulted in a failure to attain the proper touchdown point causing an overrun and collision with a block wall. A factor was the wet runway, which may have hindered brake effectiveness.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 26, 1999
- Place
- Santa Paula, California · Santa Paula · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172L · all 172Ls on the register
- Registration
- N7639G · no longer on the register · serial 17259339
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Basic instrument flight maneuvers were practiced on the dual instrument instructional flight. The pilot under instruction was given a series of headings, altitudes, and airspeeds to fly. These vectors terminated in the airport traffic pattern and when the pilot under instruction removed his vision restricting device, the airplane was on final approach close to the runway and left of centerline. The pilot under instruction stated that he would have gone around if he were alone and stated this to the instructor. The instructor then took control of the airplane and a landing was attempted. Witnesses said the touchdown was approximately halfway down the wet 2,650 foot-long-runway. The pilots said they felt there was no apparent braking, especially from the right brake. The airplane departed the runway, traveled through a muddy overrun area, then back onto a taxiway and into a block wall. Two skid marks were evident before and after the overrun area. The brakes were functionally checked after the accident with no discrepancies found.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 30,000 hours in all; 700 in this make and model; 1,500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,240 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 30, 1998; 163 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OXR Oxnard CA
- Destination: SZP
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 2,650 ft by 40 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: scat
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:50 pm from CMA, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.