- Date
- July 19, 1985, 13:15 local (20:15 UTC)
- Place
- Phelen, CA
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2640QPiper PA-28-181
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850719032719A
- Case key
- 24524
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
After receiving a preflight weather briefing 1 hour and 20 minutes before takeoff, that cautioned of lowering ceilings and thunderstorms along his proposed flt route, the plt took off under VFR. A flt plan was not filed. As the acft climbed to its cruise alt of 11500 ft, an artc controller, that was providing the plt with traffic advisories, advised the plt that a Boeing 737 ahead of his position and at 12000 ft was reporting moderate hail and turbulence. The controller and both acft were on the same frequency. When the PA-28 reached the limits of the sector in which it was flying, the controller terminated the advisory service. Aprx 6 minutes later a ground witness observed the PA-28, with only one wing attached, spin out of the overcast and impact a mountain ridge.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2640Q
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 287790410
- Airframe hours
- 1,868
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Gary D. Dellegatte
- Registered owner
- Elwood J. Travis, Jr
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility; Standard, Aerobatic
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 1, 1983 · 99 hours before
- Departed
- L66 · Corona, CA
- Destination
- LAS · Las Vegas, NV
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 237 total · 115 in this make and model · 184 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VCV, 17 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.