- Date
- November 24, 2005, 16:30 local (Nov 25, 2005, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Panamint Spring, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8091HPiper PA-28-161
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration - Las Vegas FSDO
- FAA report
- 20051124027979A
- Case key
- 62885
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
the pilot's improper in-flight selection of unsuitable terrain for landing.
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 airplane struck a trailer after landing in a fire break clearing (fire line). The pilot misidentified the fire line as her intended destination airport. The fire line surface was rough and rocky and about 4/10-mile long. During the landing the left wing struck a parked RV trailer and the force of the impact separated the left wing from the fuselage. The wreckage came to rest in the dirt on the left side of the fire line. The pilot's intended destination airport was actually 40 miles farther to the east.
Factual narrative
On November 24, 2005, about 1630 Pacific standard time, a Piper PA-28-161, N8091H, struck an abandoned RV trailer after landing in a cleared area referred to as a "fire line" near Panamint Springs, California. Universal Air Academy operated the rental airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot and one passenger were not injured; the airplane was substantially damaged. The personal flight departed El Monte, California, about 1400, with a planned destination of Stovepipe Wells Airport in the Death Valley National Park, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
In a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board Investigator, the pilot stated that she misidentified the landing area as her destination airport. She made a low approach to examine the surface conditions and then made her landing; touching down about 1/3 down the fire line. Shortly after landing, the left wing struck the first of a series of five trailers parked to the left of the fire line. The impact detached the left wing from the fuselage and spun the airplane to the left where the wreckage came to rest in a ditch. The pilot's intended destination, Stovepipe Wells Airport, is 40 miles to the east of Panamint Springs.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector on scene stated the fire line was about 4/10-mile long. The surface of the line was extremely rough and rocky.
The pilot stated that the airplane and engine had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8091H
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-161
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-8016075
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-G4, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Universal Air Academy
- Registered owner
- Alberto Solerno
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- KEMT · El Monte, CA
- Destination
- L09 · Stovepipe Wells, CA
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
- 24
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Last flight review
- April 1, 2005
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 265 total · 6 in this make and model · 220 as pilot in command · 0 in the last 90 days · 0 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.