- Date
- December 14, 1987, 18:58 local (Dec 15, 1987, 01:58 UTC)
- Place
- Draper, UT
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2138JPiper PA-28-161
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report August 13, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19871214081969A
- Case key
- 17345
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
Drg a ngt flt to reposition the acft to its home base, the eng lost pwr as the plt was cruising at about 1000' AGL. He transmitted a 'mayday' call & maneuvered the acft to make a forced lndg on an interstate hiway. While apchg to lnd, the acft struck the top (ground) wire of a pwr line that crossed the hiway in that area. The acft then flipped over & fell on the northbound lanes of the hiway. A tear down of the eng revealed the accessory drive gear attaching bolt (pn: STD-847) had backed out, allowing the drive gear to loosen. This resulted in a loss of synchronization of valve & ignition timing. An incorrectly sized heli-coil, used to repair the gear attaching threads, was found installed in the crankshaft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2138J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-161
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 287916206
- Airframe hours
- 3,393
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D3G, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Alpine Aviation, doing business as Alpine Air
- Registered owner
- Dennis & Beverly Bradshaw
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · October 23, 1987 · 78 hours before
- Departed
- SLC · Salt Lake City, UT
- Destination
- PUV · Provo, UT
- 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
- 27
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 961 total · 123 in this make and model · 854 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- 260° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 25 °F, dew point 10 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SLC, 15 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N2138J · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.