# Accident 19970527045299A: Piper PA38112, Fruitland, UT, May 27, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 27, 1997, 17:00 local time
- Place: Fruitland, UT
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.1491° N, 110.8208° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.1491&lon=-110.8208&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2362K, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2362K-2012-09-04) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-38-112 (registry code 7103812, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-38-112) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-235 series (registry code 41505, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA38112
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 50 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA97LA123](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA97LA123) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970527045299A

## Narrative

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

ON MAY 27, 1997, APPROXIMATELY 1700 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-38, N2362K, IMPACTED THE TERRAIN WHILE MANEUVERING IN STEEP MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN ABOUT 10 MILES SOUTH OF FRUITLAND, UTAH. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND HIS PASSNEGER, WHO HELD A COMMERCIAL PILOT CERTIFICATE, RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES, AND THE AIRCRAFT WHICH WAS BEING OPERATED BY US AVIATION OF OGDEN, UTAH, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE, THE 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL PLEASURE FLIGHT, WHICH HAD DEPARTED DUCHESNE, UTAH ABOUT 10 MINUTES EARLIER, WAS EN ROUTE TO OGDON, UTAH AT THE TIME OF THE CRASH. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED, AND THE FLIGHT WAS BEING CONDUCTED IN VISUAL METEOROLOGACIAL CONDITIONS. EARLIER IN THE DAY, THE PILOT HAD FLOWN FROM OGDEN, UTAH TO DUCHESNE, UTAH AND WAS ON THE RETURN FLIGHT WHEN THE ACCDIENT OCCURRED. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, HE WAS TRYING TO FLY THROUGH A PASS THAT WAS MORE THAN 8500 FEET HIGH. HE SAID THAT THE AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN OPERATING NORMALLY, BUT THAT HE ENCOUNTERED WIND CONDITIONS WHICH CREATED DOWNDRAFTS. AND THE AIRCRAFT STARTED TO SINK TOWARD THE TERRAIN. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO GET THE AIRCRAFT TO CLIMB. BUT IT DESCENDED INTO THE TERRAIN, IMPACTING THE GROUND APPROXIMATELY 8300 FEET ABOVE   SEA LEVEL (MSL). POST ACCIDENT PERFORMANCE CALCULATIONS DETERMINED THAT THE DENSITY ALTITUDE AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT WAS GREATER THAN 10000 FEET, AND ACCORDING TO THE PA38 PILOTS OPERATING HANDBOOK, THE AIRCRAFT CLIMB RATE WOULD BE LESS THAN 100 FEET PER MINUTES UNDER THOSE CONDITIONS. THE PILOT WHO WAS A FRENCH NATIONAL WHO HAD COME TO THE UNITED STATES IN ORDER TO RECEIVE FLIGHT TRAINING RETURNED TO FRANCE WITHOUT COMPLETEING AN NTSB FORM 6120.1/2.

## 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 SEA97LA123](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA97LA123), May 27, 1997: Piper PA-38 (N2362K), Fruitland, UT, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from mountainous terrain. Factors include his improper inflight decision to attempt to fly through a mountain pass under high density altitude conditions in…

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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