Accident: Cessna 172M
Aug 16, 2015 · San Diego, CA
NTSB numberWPR15MA243Event id20150816X60452
- 5
- Fatalities
- 0
- Serious injuries
- 0
- Minor injuries
- 0
- Uninjured
Probable cause
The local controller's (LC) failure to properly identify the aircraft in the pattern and to ensure control instructions provided to the intended Cessna on downwind were being performed before turning Eagle1 into its path for landing. Contributing to the LC's actions was his incomplete situational awareness when he took over communications from the LC trainee due to the high workload at the time of the accident. Contributing to the accident were the inherent limitations of the see-and-avoid concept, resulting in the inability of the pilots involved to take evasive action in time to avert the collision.
Source: National Transportation Safety Board. Record last changed Oct 28, 2026, 10:54 UTC.
Aircraft involved (2)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M
- Registration
- N1285U
- Year built
- 1976
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Operating rules
- Part 91: general aviation
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern downwind Midair collision
- Aircraft
- North American Rockwell NA265-60SC
- Registration
- N442RM
- Year built
- 1974
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rules
- Part 91: general aviation
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern base Midair collision
Source: National Transportation Safety Board aviation accident database. Counts only; Voydar holds no names.
Nearest airports
Airports with a Voydar profile closest to the recorded position. Proximity only.
- Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM)2 nm (3 km) west
- General Abelardo L. Rodriguez International Airport (TIJ)2 nm (5 km) south-west
- Naval Outlying Field Imperial Beach (Ream Field) (NRS)9 nm (16 km) west
This page restates the NTSB's public record. Injury figures are counts; Voydar does not hold or publish the names of anyone involved.