# Accident 20000715008359A: Piper PA22160, Lancaster, CA, July 15, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 15, 2000, 11:50 local time
- Place: Lancaster, CA
- Airport: Little Buttes Antique Airfield
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.7201° N, 118.4807° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.7201&lon=-118.4807&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8768D, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8768D-2013-09-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-22-160 (registry code 7102214, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-22-160) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA22160
- Reported engine: LYC O320A2A
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 878 total, 454 in this make and model, 12 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX00LA267](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00LA267) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000715008359A

## Narrative

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

(-23) A/C ON FINAL AOPPROACH FOR LANDING, FORM EAST TO WEST ON DIRT RUNWAY. EAST END OF RUNWAY LANDING APPROACH HAS POWER LINES, LOCATED ON 80TH STREET WEST, (RUNNING NORTH AND SOUTH). WHEN A/C PASSED OVER POWER LINES, GUST OF WIND CAUGHT A/C AND CAUSED A/C TO CONTACT LINES. POWER LINES BOWED, A/C WAS SLOWED AND LOST LIFT, LINES BROKE, A/C FELL W/VERY LITTLE FORWARD SPEED. A/C CONTACTED THE GROUND WITH THE MAIN LANDING GEAR. DAMAGE TO THE MAIN LANDING GEAR, PROPELLOR, WINGS, FUSELAGE, AND POSSIBLY ENGINE DAMAGE OCCURRED.                                                                         (.4) ON JULY 15, 2000, AT 1150 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-22-160, N8768D, COLLIDED WITH POWER LINES ON APPROACH TO A DIRT AIRSTRIP AT LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES. THE AIRPLANE, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE DURING THE CONTACT WITH THE POWER LINES. THE PERSONAL CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER CFR PART 91 WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. THE AIRPLANE HAD TAKEN OFF FROM TEHACHAPI AT 1100, AND WAS DESTINED FOR LITTLE BUTTES ANTIQUE AIRSTRIP IN LANCASTER. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAIL ED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED. THE PILOT SAID HE WAS LINED UP ON APPROACH TO THE DIRT RUNWAY IN A WESTERLY DIRECTION WHEN THE WIND BUFFETED HIM AROUND AND CAUSED A LOSS OF LIFT. THE TAIL WHEEL OF THE AIRPLANE STRUCK A POWER LINE ABOUT 30 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL (AGL), AND THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED TO A NOSE FIRST GROUND IMPACT. THE IMPACT CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE PROPELLER, THE LANDING GEAR, LEFT REAR STRUT AND BOTTOM OF THE FUSELAGE. THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION INSPECTOR WHO EXAMINED THE ACCIDENT SITE AT THE REQUEST OF THE SAFETY BOARD STATED THAT THE POWER LINES WERE ABOUT 30 FEET AGL, AND THAT THEY WERE MARKED WITH ORANGE BALLS. WINDS AT NEARBY LANCASTER FOX FIELD AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT WERE 230 DEGREES AT 13 KNOTS, GUSTING TO 22 KNOTS.

## 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 LAX00LA267](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00LA267), Jul 15, 2000: Piper PA-22-160 (N8768D), Lancaster, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate compensation for gusty winds conditions that resulted in the collision with a power line during final approach.

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.