Piper PA-28R-180 accident near Pine Mtn Club, CA
On February 28, 2004, a Piper PA-28R-180 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Pine Mtn Club, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- February 28, 2004
- Place
- Pine Mtn Club, CA
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28R-180 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 34.866°N, 119.164°W
- NTSB ID
- 20040308X00291
NTSB summary
1.1 HISTORY OF FLIGHT On February 27, 2004, at 2045 Pacific standard time (PST), a Piper PA-28R-180, N7687J, collided with mountainous terrain surrounding Pine Mountain Club, California. The airplane was owned and operated by the private pilot under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot was fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. Night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the personal cross-country flight. The flight originated at Long Beach Airport, Long Beach, California, and was en route to Sacramento, California. Conversations with the pilot's family revealed that the pilot was living and working in the Temecula-Long Beach area during the week. On the weekends he would regularly fly to Sacramento, California, and spend the weekend with his family. A friend of the pilot, who had flown with him, said that his normal route of flight to Sacramento was to depart the Long Beach Airport, follow the I-5 Interstate Freeway north through the Tejon Pass, and continue north to arrive at Sacramento Executive airport. A review of Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) radar data revealed that the airplane departed Long Beach Airport at 1939, on an initial westerly heading. Crossing over San Pedro the airplane turned right and took a northerly heading, paralleling the I-5 interstate, and leveled off at 9,500 feet. At 2029, over the Tejon Pass (elevation: 4,239 feet), the airplane diverted to the west, and climbed to 10,000 feet. The elevation of the mountainous terrain to the west of the Tejon Pass ran
Probable cause
The pilot's continued visual flight into adverse weather conditions at night, which resulted in an in-flight collision with mountainous terrain. The pilot's failure to obtain preflight weather information for the route of flight was also causal.
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Browse: California · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
