# Accident 20010604010819A: Piper PA28180, Big Bear, CA, June 4, 2001 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: June 4, 2001, 08:55 local time - Place: Big Bear, CA - Airport: Big Bear City Airport - Damage: No damage - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 34.2597° N, 116.8736° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.2597&lon=-116.8736&mi=10 - Aircraft: N5413S, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5413S-2002-01-03) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-28-180 (registry code 7102808, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-180) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA28180 - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot certificates: Student - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX01FA199](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01FA199) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010604010819A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19)ON JUNE 4, 2001, AT 0855 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-28-180, N5413S, COLLIDED WITH A TREE WHILE TURNING CROSSWIND AFTER TAKEOFF AT BIG BEAR CITY, CALIFORNIA. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED AND THE STUDENT PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. AERO HAVEN, INC., WAS OPERATING THE AIRPLANE AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT UNDER 14 CFR PART 91 WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. THE FLIGHT WAS ORIGINATING FROM THE BIG BEAR AIRPORT AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE PLANNED LOCAL FLIGHT. A FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR WAS STANDING NEAR MIDFIELD AS THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED. THE WINDS WERE FROM 080 DEGREES AT 8 KNOTS. BEFORE THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED, ANOTHER AIRPLANE TOOK OFF ON RUNWAY 08, FLYING DIRECTLY OVER THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE. THE UNICOM WAS REPORTED TO BE IN OPERATION; HOWEVER, NO ONE REPORTED HEARING THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE REQUEST DEPARTURE INFORMATION OR MAKE A POSITION REPORT. THE AIRPLANE TOOK OFF ON RUNWAY 26, INITIATING THE DEPARTURE FROM THE APPROACH END. AT MIDFIELD THE PILOT ROTATED AND THE AIRPLANE BEGAN WHAT WAS DESCRIBED AS A NORMAL CLIMB OUT. AFTER GAINING ABOUT 250 AGL, THE ATTITUDE OF THE AIRPLANE LEVELED AND BEGAN TO SINK, LOSING ABOUT 50 TO 75 FEET OF ALTITUDE. THE PILOT THEN BEGAN A 45-DEGREE BANKED TURN TO THE LEFT. AFTER ABOUT 90 DEGREES OF TURN, THE AIRPLANE BEGAN APPROACHING SOME 200-FOOT-TALL PINE TREES THAT WERE GROWING ALONG THE LEFT SIDE OF THE DEPARTURE PATH. AS THE AIRPLANE NEARED THE TREES, THE BANK ANGLE STEEPENED AND THE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE SUDDENLY DROPPED AS THE RIGHT WING CONTACTED SEVERAL BRANCHES NEAR THE TOP OF ONE OF THE TREES. THE RIGHT WING SEPARATED FROM THE AIRPLANE AND BOTH IT AND THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND WITHIN A FEW FEET OF THE BASE OF THE TREE. A POSTACCIDENT INSPECTION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THAT THE RIGHT MAGNETO WOULD NOT PRODUCE A SPARK WHEN ROTATED BY HAND. THE AIRPLANE HAD REPORTEDLY HAD A MAGNETO PROBLEM REPAIRED ON JUNE 1, 2000. (-23) AIRCRAFT DEPARTED BIG BEAR AIRPORT AT APPROXIMATELY 0855 ON 4 JUNE, 2001 ON A SOUTH WEST DEPARTURE, BRIEFLY CLIMBED AND SUBSEQUENTLY LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF AIRCRAFT. AIRCRAFT IMPACTED INTO A PINE TREE APPROXIMATELY 75 FEET FROM HIGHWAY 18 AND APPROXIMATELY ONE HALF MILE FROM END OF RUNWAY. ## 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 LAX01FA199](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01FA199), Jun 4, 2001: Piper PA-28-180 (N5413S), Big Bear City, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the student pilot's selection of a takeoff runway conducive to a tailwind weather condition and his failure to maintain airspeed and his inadvertent stall during takeoff initial climb. Factors in the… ## Other reports on N5413S (4) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 19981218033569A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981218033569A), Dec 18, 1998: Piper PA28180 (N5413S), Big Bear, CA, Substantial damage. Acft landed hard and veered off the rwy. (.19) on December 18, 1998, at 1545 hours pacific standard time, a Piper PA-28-180, N5413S, porpoised during landing… - [Incident 19940909026169I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19940909026169I), Sep 9, 1994: Piper PA28180 (N5413S), Palm Springs, CA, Minor damage. Low sun blinding. Lost sight proceeding traffic. Elected land on taxiway porpoised until nose gear collpased. - [Incident 19940225005189I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19940225005189I), Feb 25, 1994: Piper PA28180 (N5413S), Big Bear, CA, Minor damage. Student misused rudder pedals on touch and go. Lost directional control of aircraft. - [Accident 19741226044619A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19741226044619A), Dec 26, 1974: Piper PA28180 (N5413S), Lockport, LA, Substantial damage. Cows on both sides of tkof path. Cow ran in front of acft. 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.