LAX85FA197

Factual narrative

ALTHOUGH AWARE OF EXISTING IMC CONDITIONS AND REDUCED LIGHTING WITH THE SETTING OF THE SUN, THE PLT ATTEMPTED A VISUAL APCH TO HIS HOME ARPT WHICH DID NOT HAVE AN APPROVED APCH. HIS REMARKS TO MCCLELLEN-PALOMAR TWR, REGARDING THE USE OF THE ON-BOARD LORAN RECEIVER, AND CHARTS FOUND IN THE WRECKAGE DEPICTING COORDINATES OF HIS HOME ARPT INDICATE THE PLT WAS PROBABLY USING THE LORAN TO GET A FIX ON THE ARPT. THE LOCATION OF THE LORAN DISPLAY ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL REQUIRED THE PLT'S FLT-INSTRUMENT SCAN PATTERN TO BE INCREASED TO THE RIGHT OF THE NORMAL PATTERN. THE INCREASED SCAN PATTERN PROBABLY RESULTED IN THE DIVERSION OF THE PLT'S ATTENTION FROM THE FLT INSTRUMENTS, ALLOWING THE ACFT TO DESCEND INTO TREES. WITNESSES STATED DENSE FOG WAS PRESENT IN THE AREA AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12