Between 20:16 and 21:24 PST, a Cessna 150J crashed while approaching the Mariposa-Yosemite Airport, killing the pilot. Dark night VMC prevailed. The flight originated from Atwater, Calif., about 26 miles from Mariposa. Between 20:10 and 20:15, another pilot departed the Mariposa Airport and later reported that he heard the accident pilot, whose voice he recognized, make several radio calls on the local Unicom frequency. The accident pilot reported that he was approaching the field for landing and transmitted again when he was entering the downwind leg and turning onto a left base leg for runway 26.