Piper PA 32RT-300T accident near Bakersfield, CA
On December 19, 2015, a Piper PA 32RT-300T (airplane) was involved in an accident near Bakersfield, CA. 5 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 19, 2015
- Place
- Bakersfield, CA
- Aircraft
- Piper PA 32RT-300T · Airplane
- Injuries
- 5 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 35.288°N, 119.147°W
- NTSB ID
- 20151220X04641
Official records · WPR16FA041
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Radar and Audio Replay from FAA Air Traffic Approach and Control Facilities - NCT ZOA ZLA (Shelf Item): Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn December 19, 2015, at 1556 Pacific standard time, a Piper PA-32RT-300T airplane, N36402, experienced an in-flight breakup near Bakersfield, California. The pilot, his wife, and their three children sustained fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to RAD Aviation LLC and operated by the private pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 cross-country personal flight. Marginal visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the weather reporting station closest to the accident location, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was activated by the pilot during the flight. The flight departed Reid-Hillview Airport, Santa Clara County, San Jose, California, at 1435, with a planned destination of Henderson Executive Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada. The pilot and his family were travelling for vacation and were due to attend a surprise party in the Henderson area that night. Radar tracking and audio communications information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that, after departing San Jose, the airplane initiated a climb to the southeast. The pilot requested and received visual flight rules (VFR) flight-following services. During the initial climb, a controller from NorCal Approach provided the pilot with traffic advisories, and the pilot reported that he would like to climb to 15,500 ft mean sea level (msl) to stay above clouds. As the flight progressed, the approach controller began issuing advisories and vectors to aircraft in the San Jose area for an approaching 10- to 15-mile-
Probable cause
The noninstrument-rated pilot's decision to conduct and continue the flight despite forecast and en route instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), which were not conducive to safe operation under visual flight rules. Also causal to the accident was the pilot's decision to accept an instrument flight rules clearance and fly into IMC during cruise flight, which led to his spatial disorientation a
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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.
