# Accident 19990925044529A: Piper PA-31-350, Volcano, HI, September 25, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 25, 1999, 17:26 local time
- Place: Volcano, HI
- Damage: No damage
- Location: 19.4905° N, 155.2303° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=19.4905&lon=-155.2303&mi=10
- Aircraft: N411WL, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N411WL-2000-08-10) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-31-350 (registry code 7103110, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31-350) (OpenAirDocs)
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DCA99MA088](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DCA99MA088) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990925044529A

## Narrative

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

(19) ON SEPTEMBER 25, AT ABOUT 1725 HST, BIG ISLAND AIR FLIGHT 58, A PIPER PA 31-350, CRASHED ON THE NORTHEAST SLOPE OF THE MAUNA LOA VOLCANO ON THE ISLAND OF HAWAII. THE FLIGHT WAS ON A VFR SIGHTSEEING FLIGHT FROM KEAHOLE-KONA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AT 1622 HST WITH NINE PASSENGERS AND THE PILOT ONBOARD.  THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED ON A JAGGED PATCH OF LAVA AT AN ELEVATION OF ABOUT 10,500 FEET MSL.  ALL TEN PEOPLE ON BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED AND THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED.                                               (-23) ON 09/25/99 A PIPER PA-31 OPERATED BY BIG ISLAND AIR, INC., CRASHED INTO THE SIDE OF THE MAUNA LOA VOLCANO AT THE 10,200 FOOT LEVEL. THE LAST RECORDED RADAR HIT OCCURRED AT 1725:56 HST AND INDICATED THE AIRCRAFT WAS FLYING AT 105 KNOTS, WITH A HEADING OF 297 DEGREES, AND A TRANSPONDER INDICATED ALTITUDE OF 9,700 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 DCA99MA088](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DCA99MA088), Sep 26, 1999: Piper PA-31-350 (N411WL), Volcano, HI, destroyed, 10 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's decision to continue visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) in an area of cloud-covered mountainous terrain. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's failure…

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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