# Accident 19970723044679A: Tmpson NAVIONG, Gabbs, NV, July 23, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 23, 1997, 08:25 local time
- Place: Gabbs, NV
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.7997° N, 118.1106° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.7997&lon=-118.1106&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2429T, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2429T-2000-02-10) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Navion NAVION G (registry code 6150120, https://openairdocs.org/model/navion-navion-g) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: TMPSON NAVIONG
- Reported engine: CONT IO470H
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 580 total, 160 in this make and model, 70 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX97FA334](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX97FA334) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970723044679A

## Narrative

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

REPORTED CLIMBING THRU FL110. CAME APART IN AIR AFTER CLEARING MOUNTAINS. POSSIBLE SEVERE TURBULENCE AND OR HYPOXIA (.4) THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT DEPARTED CALIFORNIA ON A BUSINESS FLIGHT TO A SOUTH DAKOTA DESTINATION. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. RADAR FLIGHT FOLLOWING SERVICE WAS TERMINATED AS THE PILOT APPROACHED THE WESTERN SLOPES OF THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS, AND THERE WERE NO FURTHER RADAR CONTACTS OR VOICE COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE PILOT. THE PILOT DID NOT REQUEST ANY EN ROUTE WEATHER BRIEFINGS FROM FAA FLIGHT SERVICE STATIONS, AND HIS ROUTE OF FLIGHT OVER THE MOUNTAINS TO THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS NOT DETERMINED. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS INCLUDING MULTIPLE CLOUD LAYERS AND RAIN SHOWERS EXISTED IN THE VICINITY OF THE ACCIDENT SITE. ADDITIONALLY, BETWEEN 0830 AND 0900, NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER VISIBLE AND INFRARED SPECTRUM SATELLITE IMAGERY REVEALED AN AREA OF RAPIDLY DEVELOPING CUMULONIMBUS CLOUDS AT THE SITE. ON MAY 18, 1998, THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED SCATTERED OVER A DISTANCE OF 0.64 MILES, ABOUT 26 MILES SOUTH OF THE PILOT'S INTENDED DIRECT ROUTE OF FLIGHT. THE ENGINE, WINGS, FLAPS, AILERONS, ELEVATORS AND EMPENNAGE WERE FOUND SEPARATED FROM THE FUSELAGE,   ALONG WITH A HANDHELD GPS RECEIVER. ACQUAINTANCES OF THE PILOT REPORTED HE KEPT ACCURATE FLIGHT RECORDS. THE PILOT'S LOGBOOK CONTAINED SEVERAL `PILOT-IN-COMMAND' ENTRIES INDICATING THAT CROSS-COUNTRY BUSINESS FLIGHTS HAD BEEN PERFORMED IN ACTUAL INSTRUMENT WEATHER CONDITIONS WHILE NAVIGATING USING A GPS RECEIVER. NO SAFETY PILOT OR CFI WAS LISTED AS ACCOMPANYING THE PILOT DURING THESE FLIGHTS. ABOUT 1.5 DAYS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT THE PILOT WAS TREATED FOR A PERIODONTAL INFECTION. AN ANTIBIOTIC AND NARCOTIC PAIN RELIEVER WAS PRESCRIBED, AND PARTIALLY EMPTY CONTAINERS OF THESE DRUGS WERE FOUND IN THE WRECKAGE. INSUFFICIENT SPECIMENS REMAINED TO PERFORM AN AUTOPSY OR TOXICOLOGICAL TESTS. (-23) NO NARRATIVE

## 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 LAX97FA334](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX97FA334), Jul 23, 1997: Navion G (N2429T), Gabbs, NV, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's attempted visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions which resulted in his spatial disorientation and a loss of airplane control. A contributing factor was his overconfidence…

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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