# Accident 19990918027839A: Piper PA24, Juen Lake, CA, September 18, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: September 18, 1999, 13:00 local time - Place: Juen Lake, CA - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 37.7697° N, 119.0603° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.7697&lon=-119.0603&mi=10 - Aircraft: N5673P, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5673P-2000-07-11) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-24 (registry code 7102402, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA24 - Reported engine: LYC O360A1A - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - Pilot flight hours: 1,748 total, 1,698 in this make and model, 32 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99FA316](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99FA316) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990918027839A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) ON SEPTEMBER 18, 1999, APPROX. 1300 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-24, N5673P, COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN ON MOUNT GIBBS NEAR JUNE LAKE, CALIFORNIA. THE AIRPLANE, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING OPERATED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91 FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE PILOT HAD NOT FILED A VFR FLIGHT PLAN, BUT FAMILY MEMBERS INDICATED HE WAS GOING TO FLY FROM PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA TO BRYCE CANYON, UTAH. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT THE PETALUMA AIRPORT BETWEEN 1030 AND 1130 LOCAL TIME. A LOCAL SHERIFF'S OFFICER AND THE AIRPORT MANAGER AT MAMMOTH LAKES AIRPORT STATED THAT UPON REFLECTION, THE WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE RAINY AND CLOUDY WITH THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AREA MOST OF THE DAY. THE OFFICER SAID HE WAS LOCATED IN THE TOWN OF MAMMOTH LAKES, AND THAT THERE WERE GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY DURING THE AFTERNOON WITH BRIEF PERIODS WHERE IT WOULD QUIT RAINING. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED TERRAIN ON MT. GIBBS AT THE 11,760-FOOT LEVEL. THE CRASH SITE IS APPROX. 25 MILES NORTHEAST OF THE MAMMOTH LAKES AIRPORT. RESIDENTS OF A COMMUNITY APPROX. 16 MILE ES NORTH OF JUNE LAKE INDICATED THAT THE WEATHER WAS HEAVY RAIN "ALL DAY" WITH LOW CLOUDS AND CALM WINDS. FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE PILOT STATED THAT THE PILOT'S INTENDED DESTINATION WAS BRYCE CANYON RESORT FOR THE NIGHT, THEN HE WAS GOING TO FLY TO THE SANTA FE AREA TO VISIT A GUEST RANCH. THE FAMILY WAS UNCLEAR WHAT HIS RETURN ROUTE OF FLIGHT WAS GOING TO BE. A WITNESS WHO HAS AN AIRPLANE IN A HANGER AT THE PETALUMA AIRPORT STATED THAT IT WAS FOGGY WITH LOW CEILINGS EARLY IN THE MORNING AND THE WEATHER BEGAN TO CLEAR ABOUT 1100 TO 1130. HE SAID HE WATCHED THE PILOT TAKEOFF AND THAT THE AIRPLANE TOOK OFF "NORMALLY" ABOUT 1100 TO 1130, WITH NOTHING UNUSUAL ABOUT THE TAKEOFF THAT HE OBSERVED. (-23) A/C COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN NEAR MT. GIBBS NEAR JUNE LAKE, CA. TWO OCCUPANTS WERE FATALLY INJURED. WEATHER IN THE AREA AS REPORTED BY LOCAL POLICE AND RESIDENTS OF THE JUNE LAKE COMMUNITY STATED THAT RAIN, THUNDERSTORMS AND GUSTY WINDS WERE PREVELANT. (.4)THE PILOT DEPARTED ON A MULTI STATE CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT AND WAS REPORTED MISSING WHEN THE AIRPLANE FAILED TO ARRIVE AT THE DESTINATION. THE PILOT ORIGINALLY HAD FILED AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN THE NIGHT BEFORE HIS PROPOSED DEPARTURE AND ALSO OBTAINED A WEATHER BRIEFING. THE WEATHER INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE BRIEFING WAS SUBSTANTIALLY CORRECT. HE WAS DELAYED DUE TO FOG FROM HIS ESTIMATED TIME OF DEPARTURE AND NEVER REFILED OR OPENED THE FLIGHT PLAN. CAP SEARCH AIRCRAFT LOCATED THE WRECKAGE 1 WEEK AFTER THE ACCIDENT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS FOUND AT THE 11,760-FOOT LEVEL OF A MOUNTAIN AND ABOUT 1,000 FEET BELOW THE PEAK. THE SITE IS ABOUT 2 MILES SOUTH OF THE ROUTE OF FLIGHT FILED IN HIS FLIGHT PLAN. GROUND WITNESSES SAID THERE WERE GUSTY WINDS, HEAVY RAIN, AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AREA THE DAY OF THE CRASH, WITH CLOUDS OBSCURING THE MOUNTAINTOP WHERE THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. IN HIS FLIGHT PLAN, THE PILOT HAD ORIGINALLY FILED FOR 13,000 FEET, AND PILOT REPORTS DURING THE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON INDICATED THAT THE CLOUD BASES WERE 10,000 TO 12,000 FEET OVER THE MOUNTAINS, WITH HIGHER LAYERS TO 24,000 FEET. CONDITIONS WERE FAVORABLE FOR LIGHT TO MODERATE CLEAR AND/OR MIXED ICING IN CLOUDS AND PRECIPITATION ABOVE 12,000 FEET. NO PREIMPACT MECHANICAL MALFUNCTIONS OR FAILURES WERE FOUND DURING EXAMINATION OF THE AIRFRAME AND ENGINE. A REVIW OF THE PILOT'S LOGBOOK INDICATED THAT HE HAD 223 HOURS OF ACTUAL INSTRUMENT TIME AND 71 HOURS OF SIMULATED INSTRUMENT TIME. ABOUT 4 MONTHS PRECEDING THE ACCIDENT, HE HAD LOGGED 3 HOURS. ## 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 LAX99FA316](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99FA316), Sep 18, 1999: Piper PA-24-180 (N5673P), June Lake, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's continued VFR flight into known instrument meteorological conditions, including icing, which resulted 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.