Piper PA-32-300 accident near Mount Charleston, NV
On June 28, 2008, a Piper PA-32-300 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Mount Charleston, NV. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- June 28, 2008
- Place
- Mount Charleston, NV
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 36.264°N, 115.657°W
- NTSB ID
- 20080707X00983
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On June 28, 2008, about 1450 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-32-300, N4063W, collided with mountainous terrain in Mount Charleston, Nevada. The pilot operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The certificated private pilot and three passengers were killed. The airplane was destroyed by post impact fire. The personal flight departed North Las Vegas Airport (VGT), Las Vegas, Nevada, at 1432, with a planned destination of Byron Airport (C83), Byron, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. Radar data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the airplane departed North Las Vegas at 1432, having been assigned a discreet transponder code of 7356. Review of voice communications provided by the United States Air Force (USAF), Nellis Air Traffic Control Facility, revealed that at 1434:40 the pilot established communications with Nellis Departure. The airplane was on a northwest course at a Mode C transponder altitude of 3,700 feet msl. The pilot reported his destination as, "Charlie 83 via Oscar 42." The controller replied, requesting a heading and altitude. The pilot responded, "Our heading will be two six one and that will be twelve thousand five hundred[feet]." Over the next 3 1/2 minutes the airplane climbed to an altitude of 5,000 feet on a course of about 305 degrees magnetic. The pilot then made the request to change heading to 230 degrees. The controller responded, "Roger, verify you are going to be heading southwest of the mountain ran
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from mountainous terrain and his selection of a cruise altitude that provided inadequate terrain clearance. Contributing to the accident were the high density altitude and the rapidly rising terrain.
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Browse: Nevada · 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.
