- Date
- May 1, 1984, 13:15 local (20:15 UTC)
- Place
- Ukiah, CA
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N63813Piper PA-23-250
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19840501014969A
- Case key
- 23953
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
During arrival, the plt was cleared for a loc/dme rwy 15 apch to the Ukiah arpt. At 1307 PDT, he began the apch at the tucci intersection, 15.5 mi north of the rwy. At 1311:04 the last radar contact showed that the acft was about 5 mi north of the arpt. At 1313, the Ukiah fss personnel requested the acft's position & the plt reported that he was 5.5 mi on the DME (5.5 mi north of the arpt). There were no further communications with the acft. Subsequently, it crashed on rising mountainous terrain about 4 mi south of the arpt at an elevation of 200 ft. an investigation revealed that the DME was selected to the #2 nav receiver which was tuned to the Ukiah VOR, located about 6 mi south-southeast of the arpt. For the apch, the DME should have been selected on the #1 nav receiver which was tuned to the loc/dme at the arpt. The 1324 wx at Ukiah was 1000 ft obscured, visibility 1 1/2 mi with light rain & fog, wind 130 deg at 8 KTS.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N63813
- Reported as
- Piper PA-23-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 27-7754137
- Airframe hours
- 418
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540-C1A, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Walter F. Burke
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 5, 1984 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- CRQ · Carlsbad, CA
- Destination
- UKI · Ukiah, CA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- UKI · Ukiah, runway 15, 5,005 × 150 ft
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
- 49
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 3,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,000 ft
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- UKI, 4 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.