# Accident 20090301004619A: Diamon DA40, Arcata/Eureka, CA, March 1, 2009

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 1, 2009, 22:57 local time
- Place: Arcata/Eureka, CA
- Airport: Arcata
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.0650° N, 124.1697° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.0650&lon=-124.1697&mi=10
- Aircraft: N521DS, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N521DS-2009-07-24) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Diamond Aircraft Ind DA 40 (registry code 2990002, https://openairdocs.org/model/diamond-aircraft-ind-da-40) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming IO-360-M1A+ (registry code 41869, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-360-m1a-plus) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: DIAMON DA40
- Reported engine: CONT IO360*
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 0 total, 0 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR09FA146](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR09FA146) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090301004619A

## Narrative

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

(-23)  ON MARCH 1,2009, AT 2257 PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, A DIAMOND DA-40, N521DS, WAS LOST FROM RADAR WHILE EXECUTING AN RNAV (GPS) APPROACH TO RUNWAY 14 AT ARCATA AIRPORT, ARCATA/EUREKA, CA.  A SEARCH FOR THE AIRCRAFT, WHICH WAS OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN AT THE TIME IT WAS LOST FROM RADAR, WAS INITIATED ON MARCH 2, 2009.  ON MARCH 5, 2009, SMALL PORTIONS OF THE AIRCRAFT'S STRUCTURE WERE LOCATED ON THE BEACH ABOUT SIX MILES NORTH OF THE LAST RADAR HIT.  THE COMERCIAL PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER HAVE NOT BEEN FOUND, AND ARE ASSUMED TO HAVE BEEN KILLED IN THE ACCIDENT SEQUENCE.  THE AIRCRAFT, WHICH DEPARTED BAKERSFIELD, CA, ABOUT THREE AND ONE-HALF HOURS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, WAS REGISTERED TO MITCHELL ENTERPRISES INC., AND WAS BEING OPERATED BY THE PILOT AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.  THE PILOT FILED AND ACTIVATED AND INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES (IFR) FLIGHT FROM BAKERSFIELD TO ARCATA.  THERE WAS NO REPORT OF AN EMERGENCY LOCATOR TRANSMITTER (ELT) SIGNAL.

## 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 WPR09FA146](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR09FA146), Mar 2, 2009: Diamond Aircraft Ind DA-40 (N521DS), Arcata, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain proper altitude and glidepath while executing a night instrument approach. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's fatigue.

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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