No fatalities

19 Jun 2015: BEECH C23 NO SERIES — RANJIV PRIYANTHA GOONETILLEKE — Long Beach, CA

Long Beach, CA, United States

On 19 Jun 2015, a BEECH C23 NO SERIES operated by RANJIV PRIYANTHA GOONETILLEKE was involved in an aviation accident near Long Beach, CA. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot failed to maintain clearance from trees while maneuvering to land at night, which resulted in a collision with terrain/objects. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A pilot reported that during a night approach to runway 25R at Long Beach Airport, the VASI was inoperative. After going around, the aircraft struck trees and a perimeter fence, sustaining substantial damage.

Incident Overview

A pilot reported that while on final approach for runway 25R during night conditions, the visual approach slope indicator (VASI) was not operational. The pilot stated that he was "too low" during the approach, so he applied full power in an attempt to go-around. The airplane subsequently impacted the top of trees about 530 feet east of the runway and then impacted the airport perimeter fence about 380 feet east of the runway.

Aircraft and Damage

The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings.

NOTAM Information

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Notice to Airman (NOTAM) Search archive, NOTAM 06/010 was issued for runway 25R VASI out of service, effective on 06/04/2015, at 2017 (UTC). The NOTAM 06/010 stated that the expiration date was 06/19/2015, at 2300 (UTC), but was canceled one day early on 06/18/2015 at 2241 (UTC).

In a telephone conversation with a representative from the FAA Service Operations Center in the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control Facility, he stated that the VASI NOTAM was canceled because the equipment was returned to an operational status and the Long Beach Airport (LGB) air traffic control (ATC) tower was notified over the telephone. During the time of the accident, the LGB ATC tower Automatic Terminal Information Service was still broadcasting that the 25R VASI was out of service.

Contributing factors

Causes

Pilot

Other contributing factors

ATCContributed to outcome