# Accident 20071026824209A: Piper PA28R200, Cedar City, UT, October 26, 2007

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 26, 2007, 20:05 local time
- Place: Cedar City, UT
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.4292° N, 112.9133° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.4292&lon=-112.9133&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3971X, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3971X-2018-01-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28R-200 (registry code 7102811, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28r-200) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming I0360 series (registry code 41515, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28R200
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 200 total, 0 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX08FA001](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX08FA001) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20071026824209A

## Narrative

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

(-23) THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED BOUNTIFUL, UTAH AT 1716 MDT ON A VFR FLIGHT TO COLORADO CITY, ARIZONA. THE PILOT DID NOT HAVE AN INSTRUMENT RATING. AT 1830 MDT A POSITION REPORT WAS MADE BY CELL PHONE REPORTING OVER MEADOW, UTAH WITH AN ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL TO COLORADO CITY OF 1940 MDT TO A FAMILY MEMBER. AT APPROXIMATELY 1905 MDT A RADAR TRACK OF THE AIRCRAFT INDICATED THE PLANE WAS OPERATING ERRATICALLY NEAR WHERE IT CRASHED. THE PLANE WAS OBSERVED TO VARY IN ALTITUDE FROM 12,200 TO 10,800 BEFORE RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST. THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED THE FOLLOWING MORNING BY A SEARCH AIRCRAFT. THE SEARCH AIRCRAFT REPORTED EXTENSIVE SMOKE IN THE AREA FROM FIRES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND THAT THE HORIZONTAL VISIBILITY LIMITED. THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT WAS FLYING IN AN AREA OF FEW GROUND LIGHTS IN DARKNESS BEFORE MOON RISE. ALL AIRPORTS IN THE AREA WERE REPORTING CLEAR WITH LIGHT WINDS AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS OVER STRESSED AND CAME APART IN THE AIR WITH THE OUTER PORTION OF BOTH WINGS AND THE TAIL STABILIZERS SEPARATING FROM THE FUSELAGE BEFORE IT IMPACTED THE GROUND.

## 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 LAX08FA001](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX08FA001), Oct 27, 2007: Piper PA-28R-200 (N3971X), Cedar City, UT, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while in cruise flight due to spatial disorientation. Contributing to the accident were the dark conditions.

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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