Grumman American Avn. Corp. AA-1B accident near Golden, NM
On March 9, 2009, a Grumman American Avn. Corp. AA-1B (airplane) was involved in an accident near Golden, NM. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- March 9, 2009
- Place
- Golden, NM
- Aircraft
- Grumman American Avn. Corp. AA-1B · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 35.237°N, 106.203°W
- NTSB ID
- 20090309X20142
Official records · CEN09FA195
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On March 9, 2009, about 0540 mountain daylight time, a Grumman American Corporation AA-1B airplane, N9646L, was destroyed when it impacted terrain following inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions near Golden, New Mexico. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot. The private pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. The cross country flight originated at the Sandia Airpark Estates East Airport (1N1), Edgewood, New Mexico, and was en route to Los Alamos Airport (LAM), Los Alamos, New Mexico. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and the accident occurred about one hour and twenty minutes before civil twilight. Witnesses heard the non-instrument rated private pilot and passenger depart 1N1 for LAM about 0530. The pilot and passenger regularly flew between the two locations as passengers in another airplane with another pilot, commuting to work in Los Alamos. The pilot and passenger had only flown together in N9646L once the week prior to the accident due to the other pilot being unavailable to fly. Their regular route of flight generally followed State Route 344 (SR-344) to State Highway 14 (SH-14), then north towards LAM. SR-344 generally runs north from 1N1 about nine miles, and then turns west for about 4.5 miles, crossing a 7,200 foot mean sea level (MSL), north-south running ridgeline 1.6 miles east of SH-14. A witness driving north on SR-344 saw an airplane
Probable cause
The pilot's continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's recent usage of alcohol and his subsequent impairment.
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Browse: New Mexico · Grumman American Avn. 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.
