On February 14, 2004, about 1900 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172S, N262TA, departed the taxiway while taxing from landing and collided with terrain at Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL), Riverside, California. The airplane was registered to Irvin Enterprises, and operated by The Flight School of Palm Springs, under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The certified flight instructor, the sole occupant, was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal local flight departed Palm Springs International Airport (PSP), Palm Springs, California, about 1800, with a planned destination of RAL. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan had not been filed. In a written statement, the pilot reported that he had landed on runway 27 and was attempting to taxi to the ramp area. After taxiing off the runway, the controller cleared him to taxi to the ramp. He was unfamiliar with the airport and requested further instructions. In an effort to comply with what he thought the controller was telling him to do, he departed the taxiway. He continued down a grassy area and collided with a median. The damage to the airplane included fuselage skin buckling, and the nose landing gear separated from the airframe. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane.