- Date
- September 6, 1989, 18:15 local (Sep 7, 1989, 00:15 UTC)
- Place
- Grantsville, UT
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7835PPiper PA-24-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report September 5, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890906033989A
- Case key
- 17606
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Improper in-flight planning/decision by the pilot, by entering a box canyon with insufficient altitude to assure a safe exit. Contributing factors were: box canyon, rising terrain, and high density altitude.
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 plt & passenger took off on a local flt at 1801 MDT. When the acft did not return, a search was initiated. The acft was found the next morning where it had crashed & burned on the side of a box canyon. Entrance to the canyon was from the southeast. The acft crashed on steep terrain on the west side of the canyon. Impact was on a southerly heading. Impact marks (fragmented & gouged rocks) were found about 50 ft upslope from where the main wreckage came to rest. Much of the wreckage was demolished by fire. An exam of the rgt wing revealed chordwise crushing of its lower skin. Both prop blades were bent & twisted; the tips of both props were torn off. No preimpact mechanical part failure or malfunction was found. Density altitude at the crash site was aprx 7000 ft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7835P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-3055
- Airframe hours
- 4,187
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Calvin, Joe B.
- Registered owner
- Calvin, Joe B
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 2, 1989 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- UT29 · Tooele, 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
- 30
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,967 total · 135 in this make and model · 95 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 320° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SLC, 28 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.