# Accident 20060908024639A: Piper PA23, Orcutt, CA, September 8, 2006

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 8, 2006, 14:39 local time
- Place: Orcutt, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Climb
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.8989° N, 120.4575° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.8989&lon=-120.4575&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3082P, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3082P-2008-08-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-23 (registry code 7102302, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA23
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 795 total, 463 in this make and model, 12 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX06FA289](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06FA289) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060908024639A

## Narrative

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

(-23) OVERCAST CONDITIONS PREVAILED. DEPARTED AIRPORT (SMX) VFR. ACCIDENT SITE APPROX. 3 MILES SOUTH OF DEPARTURE AIRPORT. ACCIDENT SITE SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET ABOVE AIRPORT ELEVATION. CEILINGS ABOVE ACCIDENT SITE REPORTED TO BE 200' TO 400' AGL. AIRCRAFT IMPACTED GROUND AT VERY HIGH ANGLE OF DESCENT AND IN VERY STEEP RIGHT TURN. IMPACT POINT WAS ON DOWN-SLOPE PORTION OF HILL. DEBRIS FIELD SPREAD OVER 200 FEET FROM IMPACT POINT.

## 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 LAX06FA289](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06FA289), Sep 8, 2006: Piper PA-23-160 (N3082P), Santa Maria, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The non-instrument rated pilot's decision to continue flight into instrument meteorological conditions resulting in spatial disorientation and a loss of 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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