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LAX92LA123

1992-02-22 · FULLERTON, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport FUL

N2169W has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (MOONEY M20S, built 1999), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

WAS THE PILOT'S POORLY PLANNED APPROACH. CONTRIBUTING TO THIS ACCIDENT WAS THE PREVAILING HAZE/SMOKE, THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO ATTAIN A PROPER GLIDEPATH, PROPER TOUCH DOWN POINT AND EXCESSIVE FINAL APPROACH AIRSPEED.

Factual narrative

AFTER ENTERING THE DOWNWIND LEG FOR RUNWAY 24, THE LOCAL CONTROLLER INSTRUCTED THE FLIGHT TO EXTEND THE DOWNWIND LEG. THREE MINUTES LATER, WHEN THE AIRPLANE WAS ABOUT 4 MILES EAST OF THE AIRPORT, THE LOCAL CONTROLLER CLEARED THE FLIGHT TO TURN BASE FOLLOWED BY A CLEARANCE TO LAND. THE PREVAILING VISIBILITY WAS ABOUT 4 MILES WITH HAZE. THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO SEE THE AIRPORT BECAUSE OF THE SUN GLARE MIXED WITH THE HAZE AND USED THE LOCALIZER FOR GUIDANCE TO THE AIRPORT. THE PILOT MAINTAINED THE BASE LEG ALTITUDE UNTIL HE COULD READILY IDENTIFY THE RUNWAY WHICH HE DID WHEN THE AIRPLANE WAS ABOUT A MILE EAST OF THE AIRPORT. THE PILOT IMMEDIATELY BEGAN THE DESCENT, BUT WHEN HE FLARED THE AIRPLANE FOR LANDING IT BEGAN TO FLOAT. THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN BEYOND MIDFIELD, BOUNCED THREE TIMES AND THE PILOT APPLIED HARD BRAKING. THE AIRPLANE SWERVED TO THE RIGHT, EXITED THE RUNWAY, AND COLLIDED WITH THE FENCE THAT TRAVERSES NORTH AND SOUTH AT THE AIRPORT BOUNDARY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1992_LAX92LA123.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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