Piper PA-24-250 accident near San Diego, CA

On April 11, 2009, a Piper PA-24-250 (airplane) was involved in an accident near San Diego, CA. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

April 11, 2009

Place

San Diego, CA

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-250 · Airplane

Injuries

2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

32.886°N, 117.047°W

NTSB ID

20090413X23002

Official records · WPR09FA192

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

Air traffic control records

• Transcripts of Telephone Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Transcripts of Radio Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On April 11, 2009, about 1054 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-24-250, N7690P, experienced an in-flight breakup during an uncontrolled descent in instrument meteorological condition, in San Diego, California. The airplane was destroyed during the breakup sequence and post impact ground fire. The private pilot owned and operated the airplane, and he and his passenger were killed. The personal flight was performed under an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan and under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight to the Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) in San Diego originated from the Whiteman Airport, Los Angeles, California, about 1004. The flight commenced in visual meteorological conditions (VMC). According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the pilot did not report experiencing any difficulties or abnormal conditions during the flight. While en route, the pilot cruised at 7,000 feet mean sea level (msl). The pilot transitioned from VMC to instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) approaching San Diego. IMC existed in the accident site area. At 1050:34, when the southbound pilot was approximately 29 miles north of SDM, he informed FAA Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control (SOCAL) that he was descending from 6,200 to 4,000 feet msl. The radar controller acknowledged the pilot's statement at 1050:45. Two and one-quarter minutes later, about 1053:04, the radar controller instructed the pilot to "descend and maintain two thousand six hundred keep your speed up." Five seconds later, at 1053:09, the pi

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain control during an en route cruise descent through multiple cloud layers, resulting in an in-flight breakup.

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.