# Accident 19961027033739A: Piper PA44180, Indio Hills, CA, October 27, 1996

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 27, 1996, 18:37 local time
- Place: Indio Hills, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.8296° N, 116.2901° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.8296&lon=-116.2901&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2157P, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2157P-1998-04-07) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-44-180 (registry code 7104402, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-44-180) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA44180
- Reported engine: LYC O360E1A6
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 500 total, 300 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX97FA027](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX97FA027) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19961027033739A

## Narrative

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

RADAR INDICATES RIGHT STEEP TURN. LOST CONTACT. AUTOPSY SHOWS ALCOHOL PIABETUS HYPER AND HARDENING OF ARTERIES.

## 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 LAX97FA027](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX97FA027), Oct 28, 1996: Piper PA-44-180 (N2157P), Indio Hills, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's spatial disorientation which led to a loss of aircraft control, and exceeding the aircraft's structural design limits after the aircraft had entered a descending spiral. The pilot's lack…

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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