# Accident 19990204001019A: Namer T28C, Joshua Trees, CA, February 4, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: February 4, 1999, 14:40 local time - Place: Joshua Trees, CA - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Formation Flying - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 34.1506° N, 116.2702° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.1506&lon=-116.2702&mi=10 - Aircraft: N128BJ, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N128BJ-1999-06-28) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: North American T-28C (registry code 6402507, https://openairdocs.org/model/north-american-t-28c) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Wright R-1820 series (registry code 67020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/wright-r-1820-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: NAMER T28C - Reported engine: WRIGHT R1820* - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 5,750 total, 32 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99FA090](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99FA090) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990204001019A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT DEPARTED VAN NUYS EN ROUTE TO PALM SPRINGS WITH ANOTHER T-28 ACFT N628B, ON 2/4/99. BOTH ACFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES AT THE 5,813 FOOT LEVEL OF QUAILE PEAK 15 MILES NE OF PALM SPRINGS. THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED ON 2/6/99, THE 2 PILOTS SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES. BOTH ACFT WERE DESTROYED. OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN. (.19)ON FEBRUARY 4, 1999, ABOUT 1440 HOURS PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, TWO NORTH AMERICAN T-28 AIRCRAFT, N128BJ AND N628B, OPERATING AS A FLIGHT OF TWO AIRCRAFT, WERE DESTROYED WHEN THEY IMPACTED TERRAIN DURING CRUISE FLIGHT NEAR JOSHUA TREE, CALIFORNIA. THE TWO COMMERCIAL LICENSED PILOT WERE FATALLY INJURED. VFR CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT THAT DEPARTED VAN NUYS, CALIFORNIA AT 1351 DESTINED FOR THERMAL, CALIFORNIA. AN OBSERVER ON THE GROUND 13 MILES NORTHWEST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE REPORTED SEEING A FLIGHT OF TWO T-28 AIRCRAFT AT 1430 FLYING SOUTHEAST BOUND AT ABOUT 5,000 FEET AGL TOWARD THE ACCIDENT SITE. THE ACCIDENT SITE IS IN ARID MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN AT 5,300 FEET MSL. THE WRECKAGE DEBRIS FIELD, ORIENTED SOUTH TO NORTH, IS APPROXIMATELY 750 FEET LONG AND 75 FEET WIDE. AT THE SOUTH END ARE TWO AREAS OF DISTURBED DIRT AND ROCKS SEPA RATED BY ABOUT 200 FEET ALONG THE WRECKAGE PATH. ACCORDING TO NATIONAL PARK SERVICE RANGERS, WEATHER NEAR THE ACCIDENT SITE AT THE IME CONSISTED OF OVERCAST CLOUDS WITH THE TOPS OF THE MOUNTAINS INTERMITTENTLY OBSCURED IN CLOUDS, SNOW, AND LIGHT RAIN. SCATTERED CLOUDS LOCALLY OBSCURED LOWER TERRAIN. (.4)THE PILOT OF THE LEAD AIRCRAFT IN THE TWO-AIRCRAFT FORMATION RECEIVED A PREFLIGHT WEATHER BRIEFING THAT INCLUDED AN AIRMET FOR MOUNTAIN OBSCURATION THROUGHOUT THE INTENDED AREA OF FLIGHT. THE AREA FORECAST WAS FOR BROKEN CEILINGS AT 1,500 TO 2,500 FEET AND A SECOND BROKEN LAYER AT 3,000 TO 5,000 FEET. WHEN THE AIRCRAFT DID NOT ARRIVE AT THEIR DESTINATION, A SEARCH WAS INITIATED AND THE TWO AIRPLANES WERE FOUND ON A MOUNTAIN SLOPE AT 5,300 FEET MSL. THE LEAD AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE SLOPE ABOUT 250 FEET BELOW A RIDGELINE. THE WINGMAN IMPACTED ON THE SAME SLOPE APPROXIMATELY 220 FEET FURTHER UP THE SLOPE AND OFFSET 30 FEET TO THE RIGHT. PARK SERVICE RANGERS REPORTED THAT WEATHER NEAR THE ACCIDENT SITE AT THE TIME CONSISTED OF OVERCAST CLOUDS WITH THE TOPS OF THE MOUNTAINS INTERMITTENTLY OBSCURED IN CLOUDS, SNOW , AND LIGHT RAIN. SCATTERED CLOUDS LOCALLY OBSCURED LOWER TERRAIN. THE NEAREST WEATHER REPORTING POINT, 17 MILES DISTANT, REPORTED AN OVERCAST CLOUD LAYER AT 5,300 FEET MSL. ## 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 LAX99FA090](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99FA090), Feb 4, 1999: North American T-28C (N128BJ), Joshua Tree, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's decision to attempt flight into an area of known adverse weather and the subsequent inadvertent VFR flight into IFR conditions resulting in an in-flight collision with mountainous terrain. 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.