- Date
- February 13, 1981
- Place
- Truckee, CA · TRUCKEE, CA
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Uncontrolled descent
- Aircraft
- N9431WPiper PA-28
- Status
- Completed · report October 28, 1981
- Report
- Brief approved by the director
- FAA report
- 19810213019529A
- Case key
- 126621
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
NTSB brief
NTSB’s brief of the accident, as it was printed: the coded facts, with the probable cause and factors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FILE DATE LOCATION AIRCRAFT DATA INJURIES FLIGHT PILOT DATA F S M/N PURPOSE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3-2949 81/2/13 NR.TRUCKEE,CA PIPER PA-28 CR- 1 0 0 NONCOMMERCIAL PRIVATE, AGE 27, 57 TOTAL TIME - 1657 N9431W PX- 3 0 0 PLEASURE/PERSONAL TRANSP HOURS, UNK/NR IN TYPE, DAMAGE-DESTROYED OT- 0 0 0 NOT INSTRUMENT RATED. DEPARTURE POINT INTENDED DESTINATION NAPA,CA SALT LAKE CITY,UT TYPE OF ACCIDENT PHASE OF OPERATION COLLISION WITH GROUND/WATER: UNCONTROLLED IN FLIGHT: UNCONTROLLED DESCENT PROBABLE CAUSE(S) PILOT IN COMMAND - ATTEMPTED OPERATION BEYOND EXPERIENCE/ABILITY LEVEL PILOT IN COMMAND - IMPROPER IN-FLIGHT DECISIONS OR PLANNING MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS - AIRFRAME ICE FACTOR(S) MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS - IMPROPERLY LOADED AIRCRAFT-WEIGHT-AND/OR C.G. WEATHER - ICING CONDITIONS-INCLUDES SLEET,FREEZING RAIN,ETC. WEATHER - UNFAVORABLE WIND CONDITIONS WEATHER BRIEFING - BRIEFED BY FLIGHT SERVICE PERSONNEL, BY PHONE WEATHER FORECAST - FORECAST SUBSTANTIALLY CORRECT MISSING AIRCRAFT - LATER RECOVERED SKY CONDITION CEILING AT ACCIDENT SITE OVERCAST/LOWER SCATTERED 9000 VISIBILITY AT ACCIDENT SITE PRECIPITATION AT ACCIDENT SITE ZERO SNOW, FREEZING RAIN OBSTRUCTIONS TO VISION AT ACCIDENT SITE WIND DIRECTION-DEGREES UNKNOWN/NOT REPORTED 220 WIND VELOCITY-KNOTS TYPE OF WEATHER CONDITIONS 45 IFR TYPE OF FLIGHT PLAN IFR REMARKS- RECOVERY DATE 04/16/81.PLT TWICE DECLINED ATC SUGSTN TO TURN AROUND AFT RPTG ICE.FULL FUEL & CRGO.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9431W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28
- Category
- Airplane
- Engine
- reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
N9431WRegistration cancelled Nov 24, 2014 · Piper PA-28-235Airframe modelPiper PA-28-235Engine modelLycoming 0-540 series
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.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.