This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Van Nuys, California
Textron Aviation; Wichita, Kansas
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Accident Number: WPR20LA319
Date & Time: September 27, 2020, 07:03 Local
Registration: N157RC
Aircraft: Cessna T182 Injuries: 1 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under:
On September 27, 2020, at 0703 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna T182T airplane, N157RC, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Santa Barbara, California. The pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The airplane was operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal cross-country flight.
The flight departed Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA), Santa Barbara, California, for a crosscountry flight to the Truckee-Tahoe Airport (TRK), Truckee, California.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the airplane departed runway 15L, established radio contact with Los Angeles Center departure control and turned a heading of 255 degrees with a climb to 8,000 ft above ground level (agl). The airplane then turned to the north, followed by a turn to the east and a rapid descent. Radio and radar contact were lost, and an alert notification was issued by the FAA. Wreckage and an oil slick were located approximately 2 miles from SBA in the Pacific Ocean by the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department. There were no mayday calls received by ATC from the pilot.
Reported weather at SBA at the time of the accident was overcast skies at 900 ft and visibility 7 miles.
Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department requested assistance from Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Dive unit to assist in the search for the pilot and airplane. The estimated depth of the wreckage was 200 ft. On Thursday, October 1, 2020, the pilot, and airplane were located and recovered.
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Make: Cessna
Registration: N157RC
Model/Series: T182 T
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: No
Operator: Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Operator Designator Code:
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: VMC
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: OXR,44 ft msl
Observation Time: 06:51 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 34 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: -7.2°C /-8.3°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 4 knots / , 60°
Lowest Ceiling: Overcast / 1400 ft AGL
Visibility: 7 miles
Altimeter Setting: 29.87 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: IFR
Departure Point: Santa Barbara, CA
Destination: Truckee, CA (TRK)
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Passenger Injuries:
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries:
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 34.388,-119.84 (est)
Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board investigation may contact them by email eyewitnessreport@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov.
Debra Sue Nicholson
April 20, 1959 – September 27, 2020
Our hearts are broken and our minds bewildered at the tragic passing of our dear mother, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin and friend who was killed on September 27, 2020 when the plane she was piloting crashed shortly after take-off in Santa Barbara.
In the words of the countless hundreds of people who loved and admired Debbie, she was beautiful, kind, adventurous, energetic, whip-crack smart, fun to be with, a positive force, spirited, good at bringing people together, upbeat, enthusiastic, warm, generous, devoted, a loyal friend, fearless, humorous, interesting, witty, loving, accomplished, unforgettable, inspirational, efficient, resourceful, disciplined, compassionate, one-of-a-kind, remarkable, authentic, a bright light, independent, courageous, my hero, the bottom line. She had an infectious happy spirit, high-wattage energy, a tremendous sense of fun, and lived each day to the fullest. It’s impossible to imagine the world without her and we were the lucky ones to have had her in our lives.
Debbie was born in 1959 to Marilyn and Bob Nicholson and graduated Arcadia High School (’77), Stanford (’81) and UVA law school (’84). She took after her father who passed away two years to the day before her and taught her that she could do anything she set her mind to. She continued to talk to him and ask for his guidance as she managed many extended family matters. She began her career practicing tax law in San Francisco and went on to have her own estate planning law practice in Tahoe City. In her lifetime she was a cheerleader, song girl, president of the speech team, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Big Sister, congressional intern, secretary/treasurer of the Tahoe Truckee Bar Association, judge pro-tem for the Placer and Nevada Counties Courts system, water utility board member, newly appointed member of the Truckee Tahoe Airport Advisory Committee, co-correspondent for Stanford class of ’81, and member of the Tahoe Yacht Club and Valley Hunt Club.
Debbie worked incredibly hard so that she could play even harder, and she became a pilot and loved flying her plane because it gave her the ability to accomplish a multitude of projects and activities. She loved world-wide traveling with family and friends and all types of sporting activities but especially skiing and mountain biking. Many of us found ourselves behind her skiing West Face or climbing to Stanford Rock but she always waited for us with humble patience. She took on each day with purpose, gusto and razor-sharp focus whether it was flying to Utah for mountain biking, Sun Valley for skiing or Los Angeles and Phoenix for business and visiting family and friends.
Debbie leaves behind her two beloved sons, Bob and Will; her mother Marilyn; siblings Diane and Bob; brother-in-law Jim and sister-in-law Shannon; ex-husband and father of Bob, John (Tinker) Ward and ex-husband and father of Will, Pete Craig; nieces and nephews, Meagan, Nick, Sam, Sophie, Jack, Ben and Bryce; as well as numerous cousins and nieces and nephews through marriage who will all miss her for the rest of their days. Debbie’s passing leaves a big hole in a lot of people’s lives but we know she would have wanted all of her friends and loved ones to live life like she did, with passion and energy and a commitment to positivity that will honor her incredible life.






Authorities on Monday said they stopped the search and rescue effort for a Tahoe City woman about 24 hours after her plane was first reported downed off the coast near the Santa Barbara Airport.
The search for pilot Debra Nicholson has now turned into a recovery effort led by a dive team, the Coast Guard said.
According to a press release, authorities stopped the search a day after the Coast Guard located “a debris field and light sheen in the reported vicinity of the downed aircraft,” around two miles off the coast of the Santa Barbara Airport.
The plane was last seen at 7:10 a.m. Sunday.
Petty Officer Richard Brahm said search and rescue efforts are called off for various reasons, including life expectancy on the water, how long a person could reasonably survive in the water and the circumstances by which the person entered the water.
According to Hardy Bullock, director of Aviation and Community Services at the Truckee Tahoe Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office called the airport Sunday morning to confirm that Nicholson’s plane was not in the hangar.
“They wanted to make sure that the subject’s aircraft wasn’t in a hangar here,” Bullock said. “That’s protocol. We conduct a safety search to ensure that the aircraft scheduled to be here has arrived. If it’s not, it could substantiate claims.”
Bullock said the plane nor pilot were found on the premises.
ENGAGED COMMUNITY MEMBER
Nicholson was an active community member, and was just appointed to serve on the Airport Community Advisory Team September 23rd, four days before her plane went down, Bullock said.
“She volunteered her time with the advisory team,” Bullock said. “We were looking forward to working with her.”
According to a letter of intent Nicholson directed to the Truckee Tahoe Airport on July 21st, Nicholson has two sons, the youngest of whom just began college.
According to that same letter, Nicholson has been practicing solo estate law in Tahoe City for over 30 years.
Brent Collinson, a Tahoe attorney who specializes in estate planning, said he remembers laughing with Nicholson after a Bar Association-sponsored slalom many years ago.
“The Bar Association used to have a ski day where attorneys got together and skied at a resort,” Collinson said. “We had a slalom race when she was four or five months pregnant and she beat me. Afterwards when we were sitting around, she said, ‘I live in Squaw Valley and ski everyday, so don’t feel bad.’”
Collinson, who is also a pilot, said he was jarred by the news given how qualified Nicholson was as a pilot.
“She had gone beyond the basics of a pilot’s license,” Collinson said. “I know she was instrument rated.”
LOSS TO LEGAL COMMUNITY
Although Nicholson practiced estate law alone, she shared an office with another estate attorney in Tahoe City, Gregg Lien.
Lien said he knew Nicholson for over 40 years.
“I am dumbfounded,” Lien said. “She was a dear friend and colleague.”
Lien said Nicholson had a “whip crack smart mind,” and was well respected by her legal peers.
Lien said he and Nicholson worked for the same firm in the 1980s.
“We have a small legal community in Tahoe,” Lien said. “This is a tremendous loss to our community and group of colleagues.”
“The community is going to miss her,” Collinson said.