1989 — Feb 19, Las Vegas Flyers Cessna 402 crash, Santa Ana Mts. near Corona, CA– 10

— 10  B3A. “Crash of a Cessna 402 in Santa Ana: 10 killed.” Accessed 7-2-2016.

— 10  Kebabjian, Richard. Planecrashinfo.com. Accessed 7-2-2016.

— 10  Los Angeles Times. “Family of 7, 3 Others Die in Plane Crash.” 2-21-1989.

— 10  NTSB. “NTSB Identification: DCA89MA026.” Accessed 7-2-2016.

 

Narrative Information

 

Kebabjian:

Date:               February 19, 1989

Time:               12:10

Location:         Corona, California

Operator:         Air Taxi – Las Vegas Flyers Inc.

Route:             Las Vegas, NV – Santa Ana, CA

AC Type:         Cessna 402B

Registration:    N69383

Aboard:           10 (passengers: 9  crew: 1)

Fatalities:         10 (passengers: 9  crew: 1)

“Summary:      The accident occurred during a descent when the aircraft collided with a 2,060 ft. mountain. The pilot’s failure to properly preflight and plan for flight and his intentional flight into imc conditions. Pilots disregard for in-flight weather advisories. Factors contributing to the accident were the low ceiling conditions in conjunction with the mountainous terrain.”

 

LA Times: “Corona, Calif. — The shattered wreckage of a chartered twin-engine plane carrying five children, their parents and two other relatives on an outing from Las Vegas to Disneyland was found Monday on a chaparral-covered peak in Riverside County. All 10 aboard, including the pilot, were dead, authorities said.

 

“The Cessna 402, flying in overcast, drizzly weather at midday Sunday, failed to clear a 2,274-foot crest by about 100 feet and slammed into the peak overlooking Hagador Canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains, scattering twisted metal, bodies and baggage over a 100-yard area.

 

“The plane went down about 20 miles short of its destination, Orange County’s John Wayne Airport….

 

“The Riverside County coroner’s office tentatively identified the victims as Michael Cranson, 36, a Las Vegas police officer; his wife, Raeann, 33; their five children, Shauna, 15, Stephanie, 14, Nicole, 12, Joshua, 11 and Kyle, 7; James Montano, 24, and Cynthia Montano, 23, identified in Las Vegas as Raeann Cranson’s sister and brother-in-law. The pilot was identified as Hassan Berro, co-owner of Las Vegas Flyers, which owned the downed Cessna….

 

“The Cessna left McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas about 11 a.m. Sunday and was due in Orange County at 12:30 p.m. It was last reported at 12:07 p.m. on radar at an altitude of 2,100 feet near Corona.

 

“Riverside County sheriff’s deputies and Civil Air Patrol members began looking for the plane Sunday afternoon, but the search was halted because of darkness and the cold, drizzly weather.

 

“Bob Tur, pilot of the KNX copter, spotted the wreckage in the rugged terrain, which is about a 10-minute flight from Corona Airport….”

 

NTSB: “Nonscheduled 14 CFR

“Accident occurred Sunday, February 19, 1989 in Corona, CA

“Probable Cause Approval Date: 06/01/1990

“Aircraft: CESSNA 402B, registration: N69383

“Injuries: 10 Fatal.

 

“THE PLT WAS OPERATING AN ON-DEMAND AIR TAXI PASSENGER FLT TO SANTA ANA, CA. THE ACDT OCCURRED DRG DESCENT, WHEN THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH A MTN AT 2060 FT MSL. THE PLT HAD RCVD A PREFLT WX BRIEFING IN WHICH HE WAS ADVISED OF LOW CEILINGS AND REDUCED VIS IN THE LOS ANGELES BASIN, SURROUNDING MTNS OBSCURED BY CLOUDS, AND THAT VFR[1] FLT TO SANTA ANA WAS NOT RECOMMENDED. HE DEPARTED VFR. WHILE EN ROUTE, THE PLT WAS ADVISED THAT SANTA ANA WAS REPORTING 1400 FT OVCST WITH 5 MILES VIS. A VIDEOTAPE RECORDED BY A PASSENGER SHOWED MTN PEAKS PROTRUDING THROUGH A SOLID CLOUD LAYER AND SHOWED THE ACFT DESCENDING INTO THE CLOUDS. WITNESSES DESCRIBED A LOW CLOUD CEILING NR THE CRASH SITE AND CLOUD TOPS AT 5000 FT. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED EVIDENCE OF POWERED FLT AND NO EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT CONTROL OR ENGINE MALFUNCTION.RECORDS INDICATED THAT THE PLT HAD ENCOUNTERED IMC[2] ON ONLY 1 FLT IN THE PREVIOUS 9 MOS. HE WAS DIR OF OPNS FOR THE OPERATOR.

 

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

 

“THE PILOT’S FAILURE TO PROPERLY PREFLIGHT AND PLAN FOR FLIGHT AND HIS INTENTIONAL FLIGHT INTO IMC CONDITIONS. FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE LOW CEILING CONDITIONS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.”

 

Sources

 

B3A (Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a Cessna 402 in Santa Ana: 10 killed.” Accessed 7-2-2016 at: http://www.baaa-acro.com/1989/archives/crash-of-a-cessna-402-in-santa-ana-10-killed/

 

Kebabjian, Richard. Planecrashinfo.com. Accessed 7-2-2016 at: http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1989/1989-10.htm

 

Los Angeles Times (Louis Sahagun and John Kendall). “Family of 7, 3 Others Die in Plane Crash.” 2-21-1989. Accessed 7-2-2016 at: http://articles.latimes.com/1989-02-21/news/mn-88_1_plane-crash

 

National Transportation Safety Board. “NTSB Identification: DCA89MA026.” Accessed 7-2-2016 at: http://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001213X27704&key=1

 

 

 

 

[1] Visual Flight Rules.

[2] Instrument Meteorological Conditions.