# NTSB LAX00FA302: Piper PA-24, N300P, Independence, CA, August 16, 2000 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Field investigation · Final report - Date: August 15, 2000, 21:50 local (Aug 16, 2000, 04:50 UTC) - Place: Independence, CA - Coordinates: 36.830711, -118.24073 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.8307&lon=-118.2407&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal, 1 serious - Status: Completed, report February 20, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: TEXTRON LYCOMING, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, NEW PIPER AIRCRAFT CORPORATION - NTSB case key (mKey): 50001 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX00FA302 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/50001/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00FA302 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain terrain clearance. Factors included night conditions, cockpit lighting, which compromised the pilot's night vision, and drug impairment. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with terrain/water, approach - vfr pattern - final approach - instrument light(s) - activated - flashlight - activated - light condition - night (contributing factor) - altitude/clearance - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - physical impairment(visual deficiency), pilot in command (contributing factor) - impairment(drugs), pilot in command (contributing factor) ## Analysis The airplane collided with terrain on the downwind leg as it approached a point abeam the runway threshold. Auxiliary lighting had recently been installed in the glareshield. This did not provide adequate lighting, so the pilot clipped two flashlights onto the glareshield, used two additional handheld flashlights to illuminate the instrument panel, and continued the flight. The airplane maintained a gradual descent as it flew south of the airport, then completed a left turn to the north on the downwind leg. It continued to descend until it collided with the terrain. The pilot, at some time in the past, had significant surgery on at least one of his eyes, including a corneal transplant. Such surgery can result in complications that substantially impair vision. The lighting level in the cockpit, with the additional lighting from the flashlights, would have essentially prohibited any dark-adaptation of the pilot's vision, and interfered with him seeing anything clearly outside the airplane. Analysis of specimens for the pilot was positive for the following drugs: Benzoylecgonine and ecgonine methyl ester (inactive metabolites of cocaine), cocaine, Temazepam, Oxazepam, and acetaminophen. The pilot was likely impaired by the effects of cocaine withdrawal, and possibly by the use of a prescription sleeping aid. The use of a medication for control of pain/fever symptoms implies that such symptoms were significant. Distraction, sensory disturbance, or impaired judgment as a result of illness could have conceivably played some role in this accident. It is also possible, but less likely, that the pilot had an acute event that resulted in incapacitation (fainting or seizure, for example) as a result of his drug use. The pilot and passenger were both thrown forward and to the right by the impact. The lack of shoulder restraint concentrated deceleration forces on the lap belt resulting in separation of the floor to which the seat belt attached. The damage, deformation, and fractures were typical of a single overload event, and indicate substantial forward rotation of the attachment point during the separation process. This and centrifugal force allowed the pilot to strike the instrument console to his right. ## Factual narrative HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 15, 2000, about 2150 hours Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-24, N300P, collided with obstacles and terrain during a night landing at Independence, California. The owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot sustained fatal injuries and the passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane was destroyed. The personal flight departed Oroville, California, about 1930 as a nonstop flight to Independence. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed. According to the pilot's wife, the pilot and passenger were en route to Independence to go backpacking. She stated the couple flew into nearby Lone Pine the previous year on a similar trip, but thought this was her husband's first flight into Independence. The pilot established radio contact with Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) at 1942. He reported he was out of Oroville, climbing through 8,000 feet for 13,500 feet, and requested flight following. At 2008, the pilot lost radio contact with ARTCC, but established contact with Reno Approach Control. After he flew out of Reno's airspace, he reestablished contact with ARTCC at 2025, but then lost contact again at 2042. At 2139, the ARTCC controller coordinated with High Desert TRACON, who verified they had radar contact on the airplane 10 miles south of Bishop, California. At 2148, High Desert TRACON verified they still had contact, and the airplane was descending through 7,500 feet near Independence airport. At 2201, ARTCC contacted High Desert, who reported that they had lost radar contact over the Independence airport. According to the passenger, they were scheduled to depart about 1700 after he got off work; however, he was delayed and they did not leave until 1930. About midway into the flight, the pilot activated the dash lights. The lights did not seem bright enough, so they attached two small flashlights to the cabin interior and used them as floodlights. They also used two small flashlights to scan the instrument panel. This seemed adequate so they continued. The last landmark the passenger recalled seeing was Mono Lake. He recalled seeing the runway lights after the pilot activated the pilot controlled runway lighting about 10 minutes from the airport. He did not recall seeing the lights as they maneuvered over the airport to enter the landing pattern. The passenger further stated that the pilot did not express any concerns during the approach. The passenger felt a violent jerk to the left about 1 second before the crash. The passenger extricated himself from the wreckage. He contacted emergency services via his cell phone about 2300. About 2150, a motorist going northbound on a highway along the west boundary of the airport said he saw an airplane he thought was moving slowly and low to the ground. He saw a green light over a red light and reported that both were steady. The lights "hopped straight up" then went back down, and then he could not see the lights anymore. He did not observe any flashing lights. The airplane came to rest several hundred yards abeam the approach end of runway 14. The debris path was oriented along a magnetic bearing of 300 degrees. A data readout from an onboard portable global positions system (GPS) unit showed that the airplane maintained a steady descent as it came by the west side of the airport on a southerly direction. The descent continued as the track turned 180 degrees to the left over Independence and proceeded back to the downwind leg for runway 14, where the data ended. The last data point recorded an altitude of 3,932 feet at 2152:18. The manufacturer stated that the pilot can adjust the hour setting, but the minutes and seconds are matched to UTC time. PERSONNEL INFORMATION A review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airman records revealed the pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single engine land rating. A third-class medical certificate with the limitation the pilot must wear corrective lenses was issued on June 28, 2000. An examination of the pilot's logbook indicated an estimated total flight time of 252 hours, with an estimated 85 hours in this make and model. About 19 hours were logged in the last 90 days, and about 7 in the last 30 days. The pilot's logbook recorded the last night flight on April 16, 2000. Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) 61.57(d)(1) states that no person may act as pilot-in-command of an aircraft carrying passengers at night "unless, within the preceding 90 days, that person has made not fewer than three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop, at night, as the sole manipulator of the controls in the same category and class of aircraft." AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The airplane was a Piper PA 24, serial number 24-2879. A review of the airplane's logbooks revealed an estimated total airframe time of 3,441 hours. An entry dated January 31, 2000, recorded an annual inspection at a tachometer time of 39.6 hours. The tachometer read 165.6 at the accident scene. A Textron Lycoming O-360-A1D engine, serial number L-3798-36, was installed on the airplane. Estimated time since overhaul was 528 hours. The propeller was a Hartzell HC-C2YK-1BF, serial number CH-33694B. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION A routine aviation weather report (METAR) was issued at 2156 for Bishop, California, magnetic bearing 332 degrees at 39 miles from Independence. It stated: skies clear; visibility 10 statute miles; winds calm; temperature 83 degrees Fahrenheit; dew point 37 degrees Fahrenheit; and altimeter 30.09 InHg. Safety Board software determined there was 99 percent illumination of the moon. AIRPORT INFORMATION The Airport/Facility Directory, Southwest U. S., indicated Independence's runway 14 was 3,722 feet long and 60 feet wide. The runway surface was asphalt, and the field elevation was 3,900 feet. The remarks section noted that medium intensity runway lighting could be pilot activated on the common traffic advisory frequency. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION Investigators from the Safety Board, Textron Lycoming, and New Piper Aircraft Company inspected the wreckage at the accident scene on August 16, 2000. The first identified point of ground contact (IPC) was a ground scar about 3 feet long and 6 inches wide in soft dirt. Investigators found red lens fragments and a lens cap several feet past the IPC in the direction of the debris field. A three-strand barbed wire fence, 18 feet from the IPC, ran diagonally across the debris path; two strands of severed wire led to the main wreckage. One fence post was fractured and was lying in the left side of the debris path near the principal impact crater (PIC.) The crater, which was 10 feet long 3 feet wide and 4 inches deep, was about 38 feet from the IPC. Green lens fragments were 83 feet from the IPC and 12 feet right of the debris path centerline. The main wreckage came to rest about 135 feet from the IPC with the upright fuselage aligned along a magnetic bearing of 240 degrees. The left wing fractured along a splice outboard of the inner attach point with some rivets sheared spanwise through the skin, while other rivet heads pulled through the skin. The aileron sheared through 90 percent of its chord, but remained connected at both attachment points. A vertical dent about 6.5 feet from the wing root crushed the wing skin up and aft. All control surfaces were with the main wreckage and investigators established control continuity. Investigators observed about 3 inches of fuel in the right fuel tank. The left tank ruptured, and the fuel selector valve was to the left tank position. The nose gear was pushed back into its wheel well, while both main landing gear were displaced to the left and aft. One propeller blade exhibited an S-bend and was polished along the leading edge from root to tip. The s ## Aircraft - Registration: [N300P](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N300P-2000-11-08), registration cancelled 2000-11-08, S/N 24-2879 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-24 - Registry model: [Piper PA-24](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24) (registry code 7102402) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 24-2879 - Airframe hours: 3441 - Engines: Lycoming O-360-A1D 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Wayne Ferguson - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, January 31, 2000, 126 hours before - Departed: OVE, OROVILLE, CA - Destination: 2O7, INDEPENDENCE, CA - Airport: 2O7, Independence, runway 14, 3,722 × 60 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 56; injuries: fatal; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review May 29, 1998; seat: left; toxicology performed; flight hours: 252 total, 85 in this make and model, 94 as pilot in command, 19 in the last 90 days, 7 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Not reported - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 82 °F, dew point 37 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: BIH, 40 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20000815006999A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000815006999A), Aug 15, 2000: Piper PA24, Independence, CA, No damage. (-23) Aircraft flying at night impacted the gorund approximately 150 yards north of the runway at the Independence, CA. Airport. The pilot received fatal… 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. --- 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.