- Date
- May 3, 1983, 10:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Alpine, WY
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7295WPiper 28-180
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830503025449A
- Case key
- 15983
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The acft collided with mountainous terrain in IMC weather. The pilot had been briefed on the weather. Part of the observation called for mountain obscuration by clouds or precipitation. A person who resides in Alpine, WY said the mountain tops were obscured and there were snow showers in the higher elevations. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the acft struck the snow covered rising terrain in a nose high right wing low attitude at the 9500 ft level. The plt had filed a VFR flt plan was not instrument rated and had not flown this route before. The pilots flt log revealed that the plt did not receive any mountain flying instruction before or after receiving his plts license.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7295W
- Reported as
- Piper 28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-1140
- Airframe hours
- 2,033
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A3A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Gerald D. & Billye Dee, C.Ward
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 9, 1982 · 33 hours before
- Departed
- MSO · Missoula, MT
- Destination
- RKS · Rock Springs, WY
- Flight plan
- VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 44
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 97 total · 9 in this make and model · 64 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.