Accident Details
On a day with visual meteorological conditions, an airplane on an extended base leg of the traffic pattern at Fullerton Airport collided with a radio transmission tower. The pilot had made contact with the control tower, providing position and confirming receipt of the current ATIS information. The controller cleared the airplane for a left base entry to the runway. When the airplane was approximately 3 miles north of the airport, the controller cleared it to land. Shortly thereafter, the airplane impacted the radio transmission tower about 15 feet below its top.
Environmental Conditions
At the time of the accident, the sun was about 27 degrees above the horizon and approximately 20 degrees horizontally from the pilot's flight path. The traffic pattern altitude for the airport was 1,100 feet mean sea level (msl), equivalent to 1,004 feet above ground level (agl).
Tower and Airport Information
The radio transmission tower stood about 760 feet agl and was depicted on both the applicable Terminal Area Chart and in the Airport/Facility Directory. The tower, constructed in 1948, was located 1.77 nautical miles from the airport. The airport property has been used as an aircraft landing field since 1913 and has operated continuously as an airport. The pilot's logbooks indicated he had visited the airport at least four times prior to the accident flight.
Altimeter Discrepancy
Examination of the altimeter found in the wreckage revealed that its setting was in error, causing it to display an altitude 50 feet higher than the airplane's actual altitude.