# Accident 20040510009799A: Piper PA44180, Julian, CA, May 10, 2004

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 10, 2004, 21:00 local time
- Place: Julian, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.1389° N, 116.5844° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.1389&lon=-116.5844&mi=10
- Aircraft: N304PA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N304PA-2008-03-11) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-44-180 (registry code 7104402, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-44-180) (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 PA44180
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX04FA205](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX04FA205) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040510009799A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON MAY 10, 2004, ABOUT 2100 PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-44-180, N304PA, COLLIDED WITH MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN DURING CRUISE AT JULIAN, CALIFORNIA. PAN AM INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT ACADEMY WAS OPERATING THE AIRPLANE UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91. BOTH PRIVATE PILOTS WERE FATALLY INJURED, AND THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES (IFR) FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT PHOENIX DEER VALLEY AIRPORT, PHOENIX, ARIZONA, AROUND 1830. THE TWO PILOTS WERE ON A ROUTINE IFR FLIGHT FROM PHOENIX DEER VALLEY TO MCCLELLAN-PALOMAR AIRPORT, CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA. INITIAL REVIEW OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) COMMUNICATIONS AND RADAR DATA INDICATE THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS TRAVELING WEST, APPROACHING THE JULIAN VOR AT 8,000 FEET. THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED TO 5,200 FEET IN RESPONSE TO AN ATC INSTRUCTION. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED TREES ON A 5,500-FOOT RIDGELINE, 668 FEET SOUTHEAST OF THE JULIAN VOR.

## 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 LAX04FA205](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX04FA205), May 11, 2004: Piper PA-44-180 (N304PA), Julian, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The incorrect use of an abbreviated callsign by the TRACON sector radar controller to issue a descent clearance to N434PA and the sector controllers failure to detect that the clearance had been read…

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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