# Accident 20140612008809A: Dittenber Thomas J AURIGA, Echo Bay, NV, June 12, 2014

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 12, 2014, 21:05 local time
- Place: Echo Bay, NV
- Airport: Echo Bay
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.3122° N, 114.4575° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.3122&lon=-114.4575&mi=10
- Aircraft: N55GM, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N55GM-2018-01-25) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Dittenber Thomas J AURIGA (registry code 05628SY, https://openairdocs.org/model/dittenber-thomas-j-auriga) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming I0360 SER A&C (registry code 41511, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-ser-a-c) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: DITTENBER THOMAS J AURIGA
- Reported engine: LYCOMING I0360 SER A&C
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR14FA243](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR14FA243) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20140612008809A

## Narrative

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

ON JUNE 12, 2014 AT APPROXIMATELY 2105 PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME (PDT), AN EXPERIMENTAL-DITTENBER EXPRESS AURIGA, N55GM, IMPACTED TERRAIN WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND AT THE ECHO BAY AIRPORT (0L9), NEAR ECHO BAY, NEVADA. THE ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^PILOT WAS OPERATING THE AIRPLANE UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (CFR) PART 91.

THE AIRPLANE WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED AND THE PRIVATE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER APPEARED TO HAVE SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES CAUSED BY IMPACT FORCES AND POST-CRASH FIRE.

THE CROSS-COUNTRY PERSONAL FLIGHT DEPARTED MINDEN, NEVADA, ABOUT 1800 PDT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED.

A CARETAKER FOR A NEARBY MOBILE HOME PARK, LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES EAST OF THE ECHO BAY AIRPORT,  REPORTED SEEING THE AIRPLANE MAKE A CIRCLING LOW PASS TO THE EAST OF THE AIRPORT, FLYING NEAR THE PARK AND REVERSING COURSE, PRESUMABLY TO LAND AT 0L9 USING RWY 24.

THE WITNESS LOST SIGHT OF THE AIRPLANE AS IT NEARED THE AIRPORT.  A FEW MINUTES LATER THE WITNESS OBSERVED A COLUMN OF BLACK SMOKE NEAR THE AIRPORT AND DROVE TO THE AIRPORT, FINDING AN INTENSE FIRE BURNING ON A SPARSELY VEGETATED HILLSIDE LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 240 YARDS TO THE EAST OF THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 24.

INVESTIGATION AT THE CRASH SITE REVEALED THE AIRPLANE APPEARED TO HAVE IMPACTED TERRAIN IN A STEEP NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. THE DEBRIS FIELD WAS APPROXIMATELY 100 FEET IN DIAMETER, WITH A PRONOUNCED DISTRIBUTION PATTERN HEADING TO THE WEST OF WHAT APPEARED TO BE THE INITIAL POINT OF IMPACT. THE AIRPLANE WAS MOSTLY CONSUMED BY THE POST-IMPACT FIRE.

AN EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THAT THE ENGINE APPEARED TO HAVE BEEN PRODUCING POWER AT THE TIME OF IMPACT AND ALL PRIMARY AND SECONDARY FLIGHT CONTROLS WERE INTACT WITH THE AIRCRAFT AND APPEARED TO EXHIBIT OPERATIONAL CONTINUITY.

THE AIRPLANE WRECKAGE WAS RECOVERED FOR FURTHER EXAMINATION.

REPORT TO BE AMENDED PENDING LOCATION OF PILOT AND AIRCRAFT RECORDS.

## 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 WPR14FA243](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR14FA243), Jun 13, 2014: Dittenber Thomas J Auriga (N55GM), Echo Bay, NV, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control while maneuvering for landing to an unlit runway in dark night 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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