LAX02FA234

The pilot landed at an airport (elev. 2,737 feet msl), which was located 17.5 nm southeast of his destination airport, prior to proceeding to final destination. While at the forestry facility, the pilot contacted a fellow company pilot, who was located at the destination airport, for a report on the weather conditions. According to various weather reports, at the destination airport (elev. 218 feet msl) the cloud bases were at 1,100 feet agl and cloud tops at 3,000 feet agl. Shortly after departure from the airport, the pilot was cleared by air traffic control (ATC) for an ILS approach to the destination airport's runway 32. For unknown reasons, the pilot cancelled the approach and requested to hold at a fix until he could be cleared for another approach. Approximately 16 minutes later, the pilot was cleared for another ILS approach to runway 32. ATC instructed the pilot to cancel his IFR clearance after landing, the pilot acknowledged the request, and that was the last communication from the pilot to ATC. The airplane impacted several trees, came to rest inverted on a 45-degree sloped ridge, and was destroyed by a post-impact fire. Two separated sections of the left wing were located wrapped around near the tops of 125-foot trees. The wreckage energy path measured approximately 300-feet in length on a measured magnetic heading of 190 degrees. During examination of the wreckage, no aircraft or engine anomalies were noted that would have prevented normal operations.

History of flight

On July 23, 2002, approximately 1500 pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28-140 single-engine airplane, N8801N, was destroyed when it impacted trees and terrain while maneuvering near Kneeland, California. The airline transport rated pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to the pilot and another private individual. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed in-flight for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight departed the Kneeland Airport (O19), approximately 1420, and was destined for the Arcata Airport (ACV), Arcata, California.

According to California Department of Forestry (CDF) personnel, who were interviewed by the NTSB investigator-in-charge and party members, the pilot landed at O19 approximately 1245, parked the airplane on the side of the runway, and then ate lunch at the CDF facility. CDF personnel reported that this was the first time they had seen or met the pilot. The pilot stated he was an employee of an air freight charter company, and reported he departed earlier that day from an airport near Sacramento, California, and was traveling to Arcata to pick-up an airplane for a charter flight that evening.

CDF personnel reported the pilot placed a call to an individual, who was a fellow company pilot and located at ACV, for weather information. CDF stated it was a common practice for pilots to land at O19 if poor weather was reported in the Arcata area. The pilot mentioned the airplane did not have all the instruments he was used to flying with. In addition, CDF personnel reported that the pilot appeared to be in good spirits and did not seem to be in a hurry to depart for ACV.

At 1415, CDF personnel departed O19 to respond to a fire, and at that time, the pilot had not yet departed for ACV. At the time of their departure, the weather near the Arcata area was "patchy fog and breaking up."

The fellow company pilot, who was located at ACV, reported the pilot called him approximately 1330, for weather information. The fellow company pilot informed the pilot that the sky was overcast with the cloud bases approximately 1,100 feet.

According to the communication data from Seattle Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC), at 1430:50, the pilot reported to a controller his position was three miles southeast of the KNEES fix (located 15.8 nautical miles southeast of ACV), at 5,500 feet mean sea level (msl) in visual flight rules (VFR) conditions, and he requested an instrument landing system (ILS) approach to ACV. At 1431:02, the pilot was asked to squawk a transponder code of 3505; however, the controller did not receive a transponder signal. At 1435:42, the pilot was cleared for the ILS approach to ACV runway 32. At 1437:50, the pilot cancelled the approach for an unknown reason and requested to enter a holding pattern to set up for another approach.

At 1445:29, due to arrival aircraft and for sequencing purposes, the controller informed the pilot to expect an 8 minute delay. At 1450:23, the controller asked, "are you in that holding pattern southeast of KNEES now with the left turns?" The pilot responded, "affirmative, I just turned outbound from the east..." At 1451:29, the controller again asked the pilot if he was holding southeast with left turns. The pilot reported that he was in VFR conditions and was circling at KNEES with right turns. The controller responded that he noticed a primary radar return indicating an aircraft executing right turns and stated that the standard holding pattern procedure was left turns.

At 1453:43, the controller cleared N8801N for the ILS approach to ACV runway 32, and reported to the pilot that the last aircraft on the ILS approach broke out of the clouds approximately 1,100 feet. At 1456:33, the controller instructed the pilot to cancel his IFR flight plan on that approach frequency. The pilot acknowledged the instruction, and that was the last radio communication transmission from the accident airplane to the controller. During the entire flight from O19, the controller did not receive a positive transponder identification from the accident airplane.

Approximately 1545, an Alert Notice (ALNOT) was issued for an overdue aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Seattle Regional Operations Center. The Civil Air Patrol, the United States Coast Guard and local authorities were notified of an overdue aircraft. A search was initiated, and on July 24, 2002, approximately 2030, the airplane wreckage was located at 40 degrees 48 minutes north latitude, and 123 degrees 59 minutes west longitude, and at an elevation of approximately 1,850 feet msl. The accident site was located approximately 11 nautical miles southeast of ACV.

Personnel information

The 69-year old pilot held an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate and a certified flight instructor rating for single-engine land and instrument airplanes. The pilot obtained his ATP certificate on September 9, 1988, and his instrument flight instructor rating on August 19, 1992. In addition to the pilot's civilian ratings, the pilot also held ratings for the Lockheed L-300 and L-382 (C-141 and C-130) military aircraft. The pilot was issued a second class medical certificate on January 3, 2002, with the limitation, "Must wear corrective lenses."

The pilot's logbooks were not located; however, according to the pilot's January 3, 2002, medical certificate application, the pilot reported a total time of 14,300 hours and 30 total hours in the past 6 months. The pilot's instrument currency could not be determined.

The pilot was a part-time employee of Union Flight, an air freight charter company, near Dayton, Nevada. According to Union Flight personnel, the pilot was hired as a back-up pilot in June 1990. The personnel reported that the pilot completed his most recent biennial flight review approximately two weeks prior to the accident. Additionally, the personnel stated the pilot was "highly trained, safety conscience, excellent physical [condition] and flew to keep his experience level up."

Aircraft information

The 1969 model Piper PA-28-140 airplane, serial number 28-25646, was a single-engine, low wing, fixed landing gear, and semi-monocoque design airplane. The airplane was powered by a four cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed, normally aspirated Lycoming O-320-E2A (serial number L-16692-27A) engine, rated at 150 horsepower. The airplane was configured to carry a maximum of four occupants.

The airplane was issued a standard airworthiness certificate on March 6, 1969, and was certificated for normal category operations. The airplane was registered to the pilot and co-owner on December 4, 1990. The airframe, engine, and propeller logbooks were not located. According to a mechanic, who completed the airplane's most recent annual inspection, the airframe had accumulated approximately 5,000 total hours, and the engine accumulated approximately 450 total hours since its last major overhaul. The most recent annual inspection was completed on July 12, 2002.

According to personnel at Mauser Aviation, Rio Linda Airport, near Rio Linda (suburb of Sacramento), California, on the morning of the accident, the pilot had the airplane fueled with 23.7 gallons of 100LL aviation grade fuel. Fuel services were not available at O19.

The co-owner of the airplane reported that the pilot "always had a hand-held global positioning system (GPS) unit" while flying the airplane. The co-owner stated that the airplane was equipped for IFR flight.

Meteorological information

At 1453, the ACV Automated Surface Observation System (ASOS) station reported the wind from 280 degrees at 5 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, ceiling overcast at 1,300 feet agl, temperature 61 degrees Fahrenheit, dew poi