# Accident 19951223047269A: Piper PA24250, Death Valley, CA, December 23, 1995

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 23, 1995, 12:45 local time
- Place: Death Valley, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.6006° N, 116.8304° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.6006&lon=-116.8304&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7304P, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7304P-1997-03-25) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-24-250 (registry code 7102404, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24-250) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA24250
- Reported engine: LYC O540A1D5
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 700 total, 23 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX96FA249](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX96FA249) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19951223047269A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

BECAME OVERDUE EN ROUTE. FOUND 6MO. LATER. INFO INDICATES DESCENT FOR AIRPORT. IMPACTED RIDGE. LOW CLOUDS SNOW.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB LAX96FA249](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX96FA249), Dec 23, 1995: Piper PA-24-250 (N7304P), Death Valley, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the non-instrument rated pilot's intentional VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions.

## Other reports on N7304P (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19801126080319I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19801126080319I), Nov 26, 1980: Piper PA24250 (N7304P), Austin, NV, Minor damage. Pilot flying low over remote area struck an electrical wire with wing-tip.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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