# Accident 19980608012569A: Piper PA28181, Bangor, CA, June 8, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 8, 1998, 08:04 local time
- Place: Bangor, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.4192° N, 121.3596° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.4192&lon=-121.3596&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9703C, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9703C-1998-08-25) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-181 (registry code 7102807, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-181) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28181
- Reported engine: LYC O360A4M
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 1,600 total, 1,100 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX98FA188](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98FA188) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980608012569A

## Narrative

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

ENTERED IMC NO INSTRUMENT RATINGS. LOST CONTROL. ATC HANDLING EMERGENCY LACKING. NON FLYABLE MEDICAL DRUGS FOUND. (-23) NO NARRATIVE.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           (.4)THE PILOT HAD LOGGED 1,600 TOTAL FLIGHT HOURS, OF WHICH 1,100 HOURS WERE FLOWN IN HIS AUTOPILOT EQUIPPED AIRPLANE. THE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER/WIFE, ALSO A PILOT WITH OVER 300 FLIGHT HOURS, PLANNED TO FLY NORTHWARD FROM LINCOLN, CALIFORNIA, TO BEND, OREGON.  NEITHER PILOT WAS INSTRUMENT RATED.  FSS PROVIDED THE PILOT WITH A WEATHER BRIEFING INDICATING FLIGHT PRECAUTIONS FOR MOUNTAIN OBSCUREMENT AND THUNDERSTORMS.  WEATHER CONDITIONS ALONG THE PLANNED ROUTE INCLUDED MULTIPLE CLOUD LAYERS AT 2,000 AND 4,000 FEET MSL, AND LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS.  THE PILOT INFORMED THE FSS BRIEFER THAT HE COULD FLY IN IMC.  AFTER A 0740 TAKEOFF THE PILOT REQUESTED AND RECEIVED VFR RADAR FLIGHT FOLLOWING SERVICE, ENCOUNTERED THE CLOUDS, AND COMMENCED FLIGHT IN IMC WHILE CONTINUING TOWARD HIS INTENDED DESTINATION.  AT 0759:28, THE PILOT ADVISED THE OAKLAND ARTCC CONTROLLER THAT HE WAS IN THE CLOUDS AND ON AUTOPILOT.  THE CONTROLLER ADVISED THE PILOT TO 'USE CAUTION AND MAINTAIN VFR.'  THE PILOT AGAIN INFORMED THE CONTROLLER THAT HE WAS IN THE CLOUDS AND VFR FLIGHT WAS NOT POSSIBLE, TO WHICH THE CONTROLLER RESPONDED AT 0800:51 BY STATING 'MAINTAIN VFR.'  THEN, THE CONTROLLER PROVIDED THE PILOT WITH DIRE CTIONS TO AN AIRPORT AHEAD WITH UNKOWN WEATHER CONDITIONS. THE CONTOLLER OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE'S 2,400-FOOT ALTITUDE AND WAS AWARE THA TTHE MINIMUM INSTRUMENT SPECIFIED IN THE FAA'S AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL ORDER 7110.65, THE CONTROLLER FAILED TO PERFORM HIS FIRST DUTY PRIORITY BY NOT PROVIDED NECESSITATING A COURSE REVERSAL TURN WHILE PROCEEDING IN IMC, AND HE NEGLECTED TO ISSUE A SAFETY ALERT FOR TERRAIN PROXIMITY OR GIVE CLIMB INSTRUCTIONS TO AN AREA WHERE THE FLIGHT UNDER VFR WAS LIKELY POSSIBLE.  SECONDS AFTER THE PILOT RECEIVED THE TURN INSTRUCTIONS HE BECAME DISORIENTED, LOST CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE, AND IN AN INVERTED ATTITUDE IMPACTED THE UNDERLYING HILLY TERRAIN.  ABOUT 8 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT THE 78-YEAR-OLD PILOT'D HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE (180/90) WAS REDUCED WITH PRESCRIPTION DRUG TREATMENT.  INSUFFICIENT SPECIMENS REMAINED FOR DEFINITIVE AUTOPSIES OR TOXICOLOGICAL TESTS.  NO MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION WERE FOUND WITHE AIRPLANE.

## 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 LAX98FA188](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98FA188), Jun 8, 1998: Piper PA-28-181 (N9703C), Bangor, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's attempted flight into instrument meteorological conditions, loss of spatial orientation, and the resultant loss of airplane control. Contributing factors were his improper preflight and…

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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