Narrative:Cessna 208 N208WE was owned by Cessna and used to market Caravans to customers. The Caravan's regional sales manager for the western U.S. and Canada departed the Cessna plant at Wichita-Cessna Aircraft Field, KS (CEA) on March 27. At North Las Vegas (VGT) the pilot met with the president of Pacific Aircraft Sales. Both men departed the next day to Kingman, AZ (IGM) and then on to Thermal (TRM). In the area of TRM, the two pilots conducted a demonstration flight for a prospective customer. After the demonstration flight an IFR flight plan was filed for a flight to Ontario, CA (ONT) with a planned en route altitude of 10,000 feet. The airplane departed at approximately 16:35. About 16:55 the flight had reached an altitude of about 8500 feet.
At that time the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control controller advised the pilots that radar contact was established that they were heading into rising terrain. The controller asked, "Do you have the terrain in sight?" At 16:55:03, one of the pilots responded "8 Whiskey Echo, we're maneuvering away from the terrain right now." Nine seconds later radio contact was lost. The Cessna struck a ridge and crashed. The elevation at the accident site was 6,073 feet.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The pilot's continued flight into instrument meteorological weather conditions and his subsequent failure to maintain an adequate airspeed while maneuvering, that led to a stall/spin."
Accident investigation:
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Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Status: | Investigation completed |
Duration: | 2 years and 2 months | Accident number: | LAX06FA131 | Download report: | Summary report
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Classification:
VFR flight in IMC
Loss of control
Sources:
» NTSB
» Plane crash kills Cessna employee (The Wichita Eagle, 30-3-2006)
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does
not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Thermal Airport, CA to Ontario International Airport, CA as the crow flies is 141 km (88 miles).
Accident location: Exact; as reported in the official accident report.
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.