# Accident 19990618044369A: Piper PA28R200, Basslake, CA, June 18, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 18, 1999, 09:45 local time
- Place: Basslake, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.3792° N, 119.5107° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.3792&lon=-119.5107&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2706R, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2706R-2000-01-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28R-200 (registry code 7102811, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28r-200) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28R200
- Reported engine: LYC IO360C1C
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 4
- Pilot flight hours: 346 total, 1 in this make and model, 5 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99FA214](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99FA214) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990618044369A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON 6/18/99, A PIPER PA 28R-200, N2706R, FLOWN BY A PRIVATE PILOT FOR PLEASURE UNDER CFR 14 PART 91 OPERATIONS, COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN IN A MOUNTAIN AREA AT BASS LAKE, OAKHURST, CA. N2706R WAS OBSERVED FLYING 310 DEGREES HEADING OVER SIERRA FOREST CHILIKOOL CAMP GROUNDS AT 200 FEET ABOVE THE TREES. TEN SECONDS LATER AND 1/4 MILE WEST OF THE CAMPGROUNDS, THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE TREES AT 1005 PDT. THE ENGINE WAS REPORTED OPERATING WITH POWER.(.4) THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH 100-FOOT-TALL TREES AS IT HEADED UP A CANYON. THE PILOT FLEW ABOUT 1,000 FEET OVER BASS LAKE (ELEVATION 3,500 FEET) AND THEN HEADED TOWARDS THE LOCAL MOUNTAINS. A CAMPGROUND HOST AT THE CHILKOOT CAMPGROUNDS (ELEVATION 4,700 FEET) WAS SITTING NEXT TO HIS TRAILER SEVERAL MILES NORTH OF BASS LAKE. THIS TRAILER WAS ORIENTED 350 DEGREES AND THE AIRPLANE FLEW BY PARALLEL TO HIS TRAILER. THE TREES IN THIS AREA WERE OVER 100 FEET TALL, AND THE AIRPLANE WAS APPROXIMATELY 100 FEET OVER THE TREES AND 100 FEET WEST OF THE TRAILER. THE HOST HEARD THE AIRPLANE FOR 3 OR 4 SECONDS BEFORE IT ARRIVED AT HIS POSITION, AND THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING SMOOTHLY. THEN HE HEARD THE SOUND INCREASE AS IT PASSED BY AND THOUGHT POWER WAS BEING ADDED. HE LOST SIGHT OF THE AIRPLANE DUE TO THE TREES AND SEVERAL SECONDS LATER HEARD TWO SEPARATE SOUNDS OF WHAT HE DESCRIBED AS METAL CRUNCHING. THE DENSITY ALTITUDE WAS APPROXIMATELY 6,500 FEET. FROM CHILCOOT CAMPGROUND, THE TERRAIN TO THE EAST ROSE ABOUT 1,000 FEET WITHIN 1/2 MILE; TO THE WEST ABOUT 500 FEET WITHIN 1 NM; AND TO THE NORTH ABOUT 800 FEET WITHIN 1 NM. THE PILOT ACCUMULATED A TOTAL TIME OF 345 HOURS WITH 1.5 HOURS IN THIS MAKE AND MODEL, INCLUDING A 1-HOUR CHECKOUT BY AN INSTRUCTOR PILOT 2 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT.

## 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 LAX99FA214](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99FA214), Jun 18, 1999: Piper PA-28R-200 (N2706R), Bass Lake, CA, destroyed, 4 fatal. Probable cause: Inadequate in-flight planning and decision making resulted in a failure to maintain clearance from terrain. A factor in the accident was the pilot's low total time and lack of experience in this make…

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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