N133BW
NTSB Identification: WPR16FA111
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, May 15, 2016 in Altadena, CA
Aircraft: CESSNA R182, registration: N133BW
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On May 15, 2016, about 0829 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna R182, N133BW, was destroyed when it impacted terrain during cruise flight near Altadena, California. The airplane was registered to San Diego Skylane LLC., and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The private pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the personal flight. The cross-country flight originated from Montgomery Field, San Diego, California, at 0737, with an intended destination of the Santa Monica Airport (SMO), Santa Monica, California.
Preliminary information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicated that the pilot was being vectored for an instrument approach to SMO. The pilot established radio communication with the controller and subsequently acknowledged obtaining weather information at the destination airport. About 2 minutes, 26 seconds later, the controller issued the pilot a heading change to 290 degrees and a descent clearance to 3,000 feet for vectors to final approach. However, the controller received no response from the pilot despite multiple attempts over the course of about 2 minutes. The pilot then transmitted that he was on a 030 degree heading. The controller continued to issue vectors away from rising terrain and made several attempts to communicate with the pilot; however, no further radio communication from the pilot were heard. Radar contact with the airplane was subsequently lost and an alert notice (ALNOT) was issued by the FAA. The wreckage was located later that evening by a Los Angeles County Sheriff Office air unit. The wreckage was located within mountainous terrain near Brown Mountain, about 2 miles north, northwest of Altadena. Law enforcement personnel and initial responders reported that the airplane was mostly consumed by a post impact fire. Recovery of the wreckage is currently pending.