Piper PA32 accident near La Grande, OR
On September 8, 2019, a Piper PA32 (airplane) was involved in an accident near La Grande, OR. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 8, 2019
- Place
- La Grande, OR
- Aircraft
- Piper PA32 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 45.146°N, 118.293°W
- NTSB ID
- 20190911X92611
Official records · WPR19FA256
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn September 8, 2019, about 1000 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA32-300 airplane, N6300Z, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near La Grande, Oregon. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to a relative, the pilot had flown from Ontario Airport (ONO), Ontario, Oregon, to Richland Airport (RLD), Richland, Washington, and was expected to return on the day of the accident. The pilot departed RLD for ONO, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Capture of the flight route of N6300Z. Download from a hand-held GPS unit revealed that the airplane departed RLD at 0941, turned to the southeast, climbed to about 6,500 ft GPS altitude and maintained about 140 knots (kts) ground speed. The airplane followed a heading consistent with a direct track to ONO. About 70 miles southeast of RLD, about 1010, the airplane began to diverge to the south. During the last 5 minutes of the flight, the track varied, as shown in Figure 2. The airplane’s altitude was between 6,500 to 7,000 ft, and the ground speed was between 130 and 140 knots. Figure 2. Capture of the last 5 minutes of the recorded flight route. The blue arrow indicates the direction of travel. About 1019:01, the airplane was about 7,000 ft, at 122 knots, when it entered a descent. At 1019:18, the airplane had descended to 6,698 ft and accelerated to 143 kts. At 1019:37, the airplane began a climb to 7,444 ft and decelerated to 53 kts. The airplane then began a descent that continued until GPS data ended at
Probable cause
The pilot’s decision to continue visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation and a loss of control.
More accidents in OR
- Cessna T207A, Aug 21, 1986
- Piper PA-28-180, Sep 1, 1984
- Piper PA-28RT-201, Mar 12, 1984
- Piper PA 46-310P, Apr 7, 2017
- Cessna 172, Jun 23, 2012
Browse: Oregon · 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.
