Santa Monica - Santa Monica

On August 30, 1985 at 05:36 PM, Santa Monica - Santa Monica experienced a crash involving Cessna 303 Crusader, operated by Gunnell Aviation, with the event recorded near Simi Valley California.

The flight was categorized as training and the reported phase was flight at a plain, valley crash site.

3 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 3 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 3, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. The aircraft collided with trees during a forced landing following a loss of power. The student pilot stated the flight was normal until a 'violent right yaw' developed when the throttles were advanced to recover from a practice stall. As the cfi took over the controls and attempted recovery a 'substantial loss of power' occurred on both engines. A forced landing was made in a field during which the left wing contacted trees and the aircraft was engulfed in flames. Post accident examination of the left engine failed to disclose any discrepancies. Discrepancies were noted on the right engine. 1) The fuel controller fuel line 'tee' fitting was cracked around 50% of its circumference. (ductile overload). 2) The turbocharger gasket on the inlet side of the turbine showed leakage around 70% of the gasket are. The aircraft had a history of symptoms of fuel vaporization which subsided with use of the aux fuel pump as the engine manufacturer suggests. It is unknown if the aux pump was used during this accident.

Aircraft reference details include registration N6490V, MSN 303-00312, year of manufacture 1984.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 34.2677°, -118.7538°.