# Accident 19981225044049A: Piper PA28180, Thermal, CA, December 25, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 25, 1998, 13:44 local time - Place: Thermal, CA - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 33.5704° N, 117.1410° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.5704&lon=-117.1410&mi=10 - Aircraft: N7776W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7776W-2000-05-01) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-28-180 (registry code 7102808, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-180) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA28180 - Reported engine: LYC O360A3A - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99LA068](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA068) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981225044049A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) ON DECEMBER 25, 1998, ABOUT 1344 HOURS PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-28, N7776W, DESCENDED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES INTO THE SALTON SEA NEAR THERMAL, CALIFORNIA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE PERSONAL CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT. THE AIRCRAFT, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, SANK AND IS PRESUMED TO HAVE BEEN DESTROYED IN THE ACCIDENT SEQUENCE. THE PASSENGER ONBOARD SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. THE PILOT IS PRESUMED TO HAVE SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED RAMONA, CALIFORNIA, ABOUT1200 FOR A FLIGHT TO CHIRIACO SUMMIT, CALIFORNIA. WHEN THE PILOT/OWNER AND HIS WIFE DID NOT RETURN BY SUNSET THAT EVENING, CONCERNED FAMILY MEMBERS REPORTED THE AIRCRAFT MISSING. THE CIVIL AIR PATROL LAUNCHED A SEARCH EFFORT. A WITNESS AT CHIRIACO SUMMIT STATED THAT HE TALKED TO THE COUPLE AROUND NOON AND THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED ABOUT AN HOUR LATER. RADAR DATA IDENTIFIED A TARGET DEPARTING AT 1333 HEADING TO THE SOUTHWEST. ABOUT 1343, THE TARGET STARTS A DESCENT FROM 6,500 FEET AND DESCENDS TO 3,100 FEET IN 1 MINUTE AND 36 SECONDS. THE TRANSPONDER IS LOST AT THIS ALTITUDE AND TWO PRIMARY TARGETS ARE NOTED. THE LAST HIT IS AT 1344, 33 DEGREES 28 MINUTES NORTH LATITUDE AND 115 DEGREES 37.9 MINUTES WEST LONGITUDE. THIS IS IN THE NORTHERN END OF THE SALTON SEA. ONE PIECE OF WRECKAGE WAS RECOVERED ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1998, FLOATING IN THE WATER. ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 1999, A FISHERMAN DISCOVERED THE PASSENGER'S REMAINS AND SOME DEBRIS IN THE SOUTHERN END OF THE SALTON SEA. ATTEMPTS TO LOCATE THE PILOT AND REMAINDER OF THE AIRCRAFT ARE CONTINUING. (.4) ON DECEMBER 25, 1998, ABOUT 1344 HOURS PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-28, N7776W, DESCENDED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES INTO THE SALTON SEA NEAR THERMAL, CALIFORNIA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE PERSONAL CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT. THE AIRCRAFT, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, SANK AND IS PRESUMED TO HAVE BEEN DESTROYED IN THE ACCIDENT SEQUENCE. THE PASSENGER ONBOARD SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. THE PILOT IS PRESUMED TO HAVE SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. CONCERNED FAMILY MEMBERS REPORTED THE A/C MISSING WHEN IT FAILED TO RETURN IN THE EVENING HOURS AS SCHEDULED. THE CAP INITIATED A SEARCH MISSION, WHICH INCLUDED INTERVIEWING WITNESSES AND REVIEWING RECORDED RADAR DATA FROM THE FAA. ACCORDING TO THE CAP REP[ORT OF THE SEARCH MISSION, THE PILOT INFORMED HIS DAUGHTER-IN-LAW ABOUT 0945 ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT THAT THE AND HIS WIFE WOULD BE FLYING FROM THE AIRPLANE'S HOME BASE IN RAMONA, CA. TO A RESTAURANT AT CHIRIACO SUMMIT AND RETURN IN THE EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS. A RECORDED RADAR TARGET DEPARTED RAMONA ABOUT 1207 AND APPEARED TO TERMINATE AT CHIRIACO SUMMIT ABOUT 1248. A WITNESS AT CHIRIACO SUMMIT SAID HE TALKED TO THE COUPLE AFTER NOON AND THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED ABOUT AN HOUR LATER. RECORDED RADAR DATA IDENTIFIED A SECONDARY 1200 VFR BEACON CODE TARGET THAT DEPARTED CHIRIACO SUMMIT AT 1333 AND HEADED TO THE SOUTHWEST. ABOUT 1434, THE TARGET STARTED A DESCENT FROM A MODE C REPORTED ALTITUDE OF 6,500 FT. MSL. AND DESCENDED TO 3,100 FT. IN 1 MINUTE 36 SECONDS. THE DATA LOST THE BEACON CODE AT THIS ALTITUDE BUT TWO PRIMARY TARGETS REMAINED. THE LAST HIT WAS AT 1344. THE LOCATION WAS 33 DEGREES 28 MINUTES NORTH LATITUDE AND 115 DEGREES 37.9 MINUTES WEST LONGITUDE. THIS WAS OVER THE NORTHERN END OF THE SALTON SEA. ONE PIECE OF WRECKAGE WAS FOUND FLOATING IN THE WATER ON WED. DECEMBER 30, 1998. ON FRIDAY, JAN. 1, 1999, A FISHERMAN DISCOVERED THE PASSENGER'S REMAINS AND SOME DEBRIS IN THE SOUTHERN END OF THE SALTON SEA. THE PILOT'S REMAINS WERE RECOVERED ON FEB. 12, 1999. AN INTENSIVE SONAR SEARCH BY THE IMPERIAL AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICES AND A U S NAVY DETACHMENT DID NTO DISCOVER THE MAIN WRECKAGE. PIECES OF WRECKAGE RECOVERED INCLUDED INSULATION, ONE SEAT, SOME PERSONAL ITEMS, THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR AND THE NOSE WHEEL. THE SECTION OF THE WHEEL PANT COVERING THE RIGHT MAIN TIRE WAS ATTACHED ON BOTH SIDES. THE FORWARD AND REAR PORTIONS OF THE PANT WERE MISSING. THE NOSE WHEEL PANT HAD A SECTION OF ITS RIGHT SIDE ATTACHED. ALSO RECOVERED WITH THE NOSE WHEEL WAS THE U-SHAPED NOSE FORK AND THE LOWER HALF OF THE NOSE WHEEL SCISSOR. ## 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 LAX99LA068](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA068), Dec 25, 1998: Piper PA-28 (N7776W), Thermal, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The occurrence of an in-flight incapacitating heart rhythm to the pilot. A factor was the pilot's ingestion of over-the-counter medications that made him more susceptible to an abnormal heart rhythm. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.