Accident Overview
On June 8, 2025, at 1230 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 414A, registration N414BA, was substantially damaged in an accident near San Diego, California. The pilot and five passengers sustained fatal injuries. The aircraft was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a business flight.
Flight History
The previous day, the pilot and passengers had flown from Phoenix, Arizona, to San Diego. The accident flight was intended to return to Phoenix. The pilot received an instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance and was issued the BRDR7 (Border 7) Standard Instrument Departure (SID). The published departure from runway 27 required a climb on heading 278° until the Poggi VORTAC 19 DME, then a left turn to heading 123° to intercept the PGY VOR R-260 and R-069 to the BROWS intersection.
Communication and Maneuvers
After departure from runway 27, the pilot reported to SOCAL departure that he was at 1,600 ft. The controller instructed him to make a left 180° turn. The airplane began a gradual turn and climbed to about 2,000 ft, then entered a steep descent to 200 ft. The controller issued a low altitude alert and directed the pilot to climb to 4,000 ft immediately; the pilot repeated the instructions. When asked if he needed assistance and the nature of the problem, the pilot said he was "struggling" to maintain heading and climb. The controller informed him of the closest airport, one mile away, but the pilot reported he could not see it. Subsequently, the pilot made a series of erratic maneuvers and several mayday calls.
Witness and Search
A video captured the airplane descending before climbing back into a cloud layer, where it disappeared from view. A police helicopter, located ten miles east, was requested to search for signs of an airplane impacting the water. The helicopter pilot later stated that he estimated cloud bases at roughly 800 ft in many areas, with the highest layer near 1,600 ft. Upon reaching the search area, he located an oil slick approximately two miles offshore.
The accident pilot's regular pilot and friend stated that he had flown about 50 hours with the accident pilot in the airplane. Two days prior, the accident pilot flew solo to Springerville, Arizona, then with his friend as a safety pilot for four approaches in simulated instrument meteorological conditions. The friend noted that the pilot used a Garmin 430 and iPad with ForeFlight for navigation and was accustomed to hand-flying the airplane, which had no autopilot or glass cockpit. The pilot had expressed some nervousness about the busy southern California airspace but appeared proficient during their review of the San Diego departure procedure.