# Accident 20011202039009A: Piper PA24250, Eldorado, CA, December 2, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 2, 2001, 18:15 local time
- Place: Eldorado, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.6047° N, 120.8500° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.6047&lon=-120.8500&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6946P, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6946P-2002-04-29) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-24-250 (registry code 7102404, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24-250) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA24250
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 4
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX02FA038](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02FA038) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20011202039009A

## Narrative

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

(-23) N6946P, A PIPER PA-24-250, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, WAS DESTROYED DURING IN-FLIGHT COLLISION WITH TERRAIN NEAR ELDORADO, CA. THE PRIVATE PILOT WITH INSTRUMENT RATING AND THREE PASSENGERS ALL RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. THE FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER FAR PART 91, AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED AND A WEATHER BRIEFING WAS NOT RECEIVED PRIOR TO DEPARTING NORTH LAS VEGAS, NEVADA ENROUTE TO CAMERON PARK, CA. RESIDENCE NEAR THE CRASH SITE REPORTED THEY WERE EXPERIENCING STRONG WINDS, HEAVY RAIN AND THUNDER AND LIGHTNING AT THE TIME OF 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 LAX02FA038](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02FA038), Dec 3, 2001: Piper PA-24-250 (N6946P), El Dorado, CA, destroyed, 4 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's intentional flight into adverse weather conditions and his subsequent failure to maintain aircraft control.

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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