- Date
- February 1, 1987, 12:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Gualala, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N75178Piper PA-28-181
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 16, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870201001859A
- Case key
- 25377
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
The student plt, flying his own acft, took off under VFR conditions for an intended 45 min solo cross country flt. The plt encountered deteriorating wx & attempted to return to the departure airport. A witness observed the aircraft enter clouds, turn left & collide with trees on upsloping mountainous terrain. The student plt's certificate was not endorsed for solo or solo cross country flying.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N75178
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7690307
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- John W. & Virginia M. Burton
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 20, 1986
- Departed
- Q69 · Gualala, CA
- Destination
- CA35 · San Rafael, 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
- 61
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 465 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Temperature
- 36 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.