# Accident 19970214001589A: Piper PA24250, Farmington, NM, February 14, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 14, 1997, 23:15 local time
- Place: Farmington, NM
- Airport: Four Corners Regional Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: XFZA
- Location: 36.7508° N, 108.1804° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.7508&lon=-108.1804&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6433P, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6433P-2017-06-14) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-24-250 (registry code 7102404, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24-250) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA24250
- Reported engine: LYC O540B2B5
- People aboard: 5
- Fatal injuries: 5
- Pilot flight hours: 556 total, 201 in this make and model, 67 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW97FA103](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97FA103) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970214001589A

## Narrative

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

APPEARS PILOT LOST CONTROL DUE SPATIAL DISORIENTATION AND HAD A SEIZURE UNDER STRESS DUE TO HEART DISEASE. (-23) AIRCRAFT DEPARTED FARMINGTON, NEW MEXICO AIRPORT AT NIGHT. WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT LEVEL OFF AFTER ROTATION, ACCELERATE UNTIL REACHING THE END OF THE RUNWAY, AND THEN ENTER A CLIMBING LEFT TURN. SEVERAL WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT IN A SPIN PRIOR TO IMPACT SOUTH OF THE AIRPORT. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND IN A STEEP NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. 5 FATALITIES WERE INCURRED AS A RESULT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS CERTIFICATED FOR A 4 PERSON CONFIGURATION. THE 5TH PERSON, A YOUNG FEMALE, WAS IN THE BAGGAGE AREA. FLIGHT CONTROL INTEGRITY WAS ESTABLISHED AT THE SCENE, AND NO ENGINE PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN NOTED TO DATE. DUE TO FUEL BURN, A/C APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN WITHIN WEIGHT AND BALANCE LIMITS.

## 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 FTW97FA103](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97FA103), Feb 15, 1997: Piper PA-24-250 (N6433P), Farmington, NM, destroyed, 5 fatal. Probable cause: loss of aircraft control for undetermined reason(s).

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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