# Accident 20190908012789A: Piper PA-32-300, La Grande, OR, September 8, 2019

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 8, 2019, 10:00 local time
- Place: La Grande, OR
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 45.1464° N, 118.2933° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.1464&lon=-118.2933&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6300Z, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6300Z-2021-01-30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32-300 (registry code 7103212, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-300) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-32-300
- Reported engine: LYCOMING IO-540-K1A5
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR19FA256](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR19FA256) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20190908012789A

## Narrative

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

ON SEPTEMBER 8, 2019, A SINGLE-ENGINE PIPER MODEL PA-32-300 CHEROKEE SIX AIRCRAFT CONTACTED MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN APPROXIMATELY 23 MILES SOUTHWEST OF LA GRANDE OREGON. THE PILOT AND SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS FATALLY INJURED AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS THE SUBJECT OF AN ALERT NOTICE ISSUED AFTER THE FAMILY REPORTED THE AIRCRAFT OVERDUE. THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED IN STEEP, HEAVILY WOODED MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN, ON SEPTEMBER 10, 2019, BY AN AIRCRAFT SEARCH CONDUCTED BY THE CIVIL AIR PATROL AND OREGON ARMY NATIONAL GUARD. GROUND SEARCH TEAMS ARRIVED AT THE ACCIDENT SITE APPROXIMATELY 1/2 HOUR AFTER THE AIRCRAFT WAS LOCATED. DAMAGE TO SEVERAL TREES, ABOVE THE IMPACT SITE AND BELOW THE RIDGE TOP, INDICATE THE AIRCRAFT WAS IN A DESCENT PRIOR TO IMPACTING THE TREES.

## 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 WPR19FA256](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR19FA256), Sep 8, 2019: Piper PA32 (N6300Z), La Grande, OR, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s decision to continue visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted 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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.