# Accident 20260228001699A: Piper PA-22-150, Oroville, CA, February 28, 2026 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: February 28, 2026, 10:00 local time - Place: Oroville, CA - Airport: Paradise Airpark - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Unknown - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 39.6659° N, 121.6573° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.6659&lon=-121.6573&mi=10 - Aircraft: N3170Z, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3170Z) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-22-150 (registry code 7102210, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-22-150) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-22-150 - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Private pilot - Pilot flight hours: 1,827 total - NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR26FA109](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR26FA109) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260228001699A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON FEBRUARY 28, 2026, ABOUT 0948 PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-22-150, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT NEAR OROVILLE, CALIFORNIA. THE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED. THE AIRPLANE WAS OPERATED AS A TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT. ACCORDING TO A FRIEND OF THE PILOT AND THE ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ OF THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE, THE PURPOSE OF THE FLIGHT WAS TO FLY FROM RICHVALE AIRPORT (07CL), RICHVALE, CALIFORNIA, TO PARADISE AIRPORT SKYPARK (CA92), PARADISE, CALIFORNIA, TO INITIATE THE AIRPLANE’S ANNUAL INSPECTION. THE MORNING OF THE ACCIDENT, THE PILOT FLEW HIS ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AIRPLANE FROM CA92 TO 07CL, SECURED HIS AIRPLANE, AND SUBSEQUENTLY DEPARTED 07CL IN THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE AND WAS ENROUTE TO CA92, WHICH WAS ABOUT 12 NAUTICAL MILES (NM) NORTHWEST. A WITNESS THAT SPOKE TO THE PILOT VIA RADIO ON THE DESTINATION AIRPORTS COMMON TRAFFIC ADVISORY FREQUENCY. ABOUT 0947, HE HEARD THE PILOT ISSUE A POSITION REPORT THAT INFORMED CA92 AIRPORT TRAFFIC, THAT HE WAS ABOUT 2.5 NM TO THE SOUTHWEST AND ENTERING THE DOWNWIND LEG OF THE AIRPORT TRAFFIC PATTERN TO LAND ON RUNWAY 35. ANOTHER WITNESS REPORTED THAT ABOUT 0947, THEY HEARD A NOISE RESEMBLING AN AIRPLANE’S ENGINE JUST ABOVE THEIR HOME, FOLLOWED BY THE SOUND OF A LOUD COLLISION, COUPLED WITH THE SIMULTANEOUS JOLT AND SHAKING OF THEIR HOME SHORTLY AFTER. AFTER WALKING OUTSIDE AND SEEING THE DOWNED AIRPLANE, THEY CALLED 911. FIRST RESPONDER DISPATCH RECORDS INDICATED ABOUT 0948, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WERE DISPATCHED TO THE ACCIDENT SITE. THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS LOCATED ABOUT 3.06 NM SOUTHWEST OF CA92. ALL MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE AIRPLANE REMAINED ATTACHED TO OR WERE COLLOCATED WITH THE FUSELAGE. THE FIRST IDENTIFIABLE POINT OF IMPACT (FIPI) WAS A SINGLE TREE LOCATED ABOUT 12 FT WEST OF THE WRECKAGE. THE NEARLY 30 FT TALL TREE HAD MISSING BRANCHES NEAR THE TOP OF THE TREE, THAT WERE FOUND WITHIN THE WRECKAGE. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED SLOPING TERRAIN IN A NEAR VERTICAL PITCH ATTITUDE WITH THE RIGHT WING UPSLOPE, THE LEFT WING DOWNSLOPE, AND THE EMPENNAGE WAS FOLDED OVER THE AFT FUSELAGE AND THE INBOARD SECTION OF THE RIGHT WING. BOTH WINGS EXHIBITED CHORDWISE CRUSHING THROUGHOUT THE STRUCTURE AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AILERON AND FLAP WERE PRESENT AT THE SITE. THE WRECKAGE WAS RECOVERED TO A SECURE FACILITY FOR FURTHER EXAMINATION. ## 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 WPR26FA109](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR26FA109), Feb 28, 2026: Piper PA-22-150 (N3170Z), Oroville, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal, investigation ongoing ## Other reports on N3170Z (2) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 20010518010459A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010518010459A), May 18, 2001: Piper PA22150 (N3170Z), Concord, CA, No damage. (-23)During landing attempt at Buchanan Field Airport on runway 32R at "c" intersection, pilot "ground looped" aircraft. Pilot received a crosswind and bounced… - [Accident 19911201053959A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19911201053959A), Dec 1, 1991: Piper STCPA22 (N3170Z), Palo Alto, CA, Substantial damage. Lost directional control landing. Ground looped. PA22150 modified to a tail wheel version. 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.