Hesperia Airport, Hesperia, CA

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Airport Area Accident History:

On January 18, 2010, about 1508 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 340, N2217B, collided with mountainous terrain near Lytle Creek, California. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The certificated private pilot and one passenger were killed; the airplane was destroyed by impact forces. The cross-country personal flight departed Henderson, Nevada, about 1303, with a planned destination of Compton, California. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the nearest reporting station, and no flight plan had been filed.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a family concerned alert notice (ALNOT) on January 20. The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) launched a search mission at 1750, and discovered the wreckage later that evening.

The FAA reported that a preliminary review of radar data depicted a target departing the Henderson area at 1303. The target proceeded toward Compton, and began maneuvering en route. As the target approached the Lytle Creek area, it made numerous circles while climbing and descending.

Investigators from the Safety Board, the FAA, Cessna Aircraft Company, and Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM) examined the wreckage on scene.

The first identified point of contact (FIPC) was a ground scar near the upper end of a draw, which opened up and went downhill to the north-northwest. The debris field was along a magnetic bearing of 340 degrees. Both sides of the draw sloped about 60 degrees, and the FIPC was near the top of the left slope. The first third of the FIPC contained two separated propeller blades from the left engine; the third blade was not located or recovered. The central portion of the FIPC contained the rotating beacon housing (from the top of the vertical stabilizer), battery pieces (from the left wing), the circuit breaker panel (from the left side of the cockpit by the pilot’s seat), and the vertical speed indicator (VSI). Below the end of the FIPC were the three separated propeller blades from the right engine. Both engines were in the creek at the bottom of the draw after the end of the FIPC.

The debris field was about 500 feet long. The largest piece of debris consisted of the aft cabin area and empennage; near this section was a portion of the right wing. These pieces were about midway into the debris field along the debris path centerline. The master switch and magneto control panel (which was positioned immediately forward of the circuit breaker panel in the cockpit) was about 3/4 of the way into the debris field. The pilot and copilot seats were nearby; radios and instruments were the next pieces located. The last debris located was the throttle quadrant with levers for the throttles, propellers, and mixture controls still attached. (Lytle Creek)

Accident occurred Sunday, December 10, 2006 in Hesperia, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 7/30/2008
Aircraft: Bell 412SP, registration: N410MA
Injuries: 3 Fatal.
The emergency medical services (EMS) helicopter was performing a cross-country repositioning flight from a hospital back to its base during dark night conditions back over a routing that the pilot had flown 5 times that day and also earlier in the evening when they had transported a patient to the hospital. Visual meteorological conditions predominantly prevailed along the route of flight; however, analysis of the weather reports disclosed conditions consistent with broken to overcast clouds having bases at 4,000 feet msl in the vicinity of the accident site. An AIRMET had been issued for the area for IFR conditions, with mountain obscuration, precipitation, mist, and fog. The helicopter was equipped with a satellite-based tracking system that reports the helicopter's GPS location to the operator's ground base while the system is in operation, and the data for the accident flight was reviewed. The route of flight proceeded toward the apex of a mountain
pass, which is the main transition route from one side of a mountain range to the other, where the helicopter's base is located. The tracking data indicated that the helicopter appeared to follow a major highway in the lower portion of the pass. The highway makes a large "S" shaped path as it gains in elevation toward the top of the pass, which is about 4,200 feet mean sea level (msl). The route along the highway is away from a well-lit major city area that has a well-defined light horizon, toward rising and dark terrain with no ground reference lights other than vehicles on the highway. Once at the top of the pass as the highway turns toward the northeast, the upper desert communities on the other side of the mountain range once again provide a well-lit and clearly defined horizon. Near the upper end of the pass, the helicopter's satellite derived flight track showed that it inexplicably diverged toward the east, away from the highway, instead of
continuing to follow the highway into the upper desert valley. The helicopter collided with terrain about 0.7 nautical miles east of the highway at 4,026 feet msl. The accident site was located in a small ravine, near the base of a 100-foot tall electrical transmission tower that was located along the ravine's east ridge. During subsequent examination of the airframe structures, flight control components, and engines, no pre-impact anomalies were found that would have precluded normal operation prior to impact. While the operator was in the process of equipping its helicopter fleet with night vision goggles, the accident helicopter had not as yet been equipped with any enhanced night vision devices. The helicopter was equipped for instrument flight, including a 3-axis autopilot. The first fire department responders to the accident site reported that the area was covered by what they described as "intermittent waves" of fog that would suddenly form and
then dissipate, which made it difficult to locate the wreckage.

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

The pilot's inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological conditions and subsequent failure to maintain terrain clearance. Contributing to the accident were the dark night conditions, fog, and mountainous terrain.



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