- Date
- October 28, 1987, 18:41 local (Oct 29, 1987, 02:41 UTC)
- Place
- Buttonwillow, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5431PPiper PA-24-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report September 1, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19871028083399A
- Case key
- 25786
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
A Piper PA-24-250 collided with terrain while on an IFR flight. The pilot received a wx briefing from fss. While en route, radio and radar contact was lost, then regained. The pilot stated to ATC that the acft had been struck by lightning. He elected to continue his flt to his dest. The acft again was lost from radar while plt was executing frequency change. Witnesses reported acft descending in vertical spiral and then impacting gnd vertically. Wx rprts and forecasts indicated thunderstorms, turbulence, and lightning were present along flight. Two plt rprts indicated presence of moderate to severe turbulance in vicinity of the accident site, within 1,000 ft of acft cruise alt. Review of pilot's logbook indicated he was not ifr-current. Exam of the wreckage did not disclose the damage by the lightning strike.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5431P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-485
- Airframe hours
- 2,849
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-A1A5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Marracci, Louis T
- Registered owner
- Marracci, Louis T.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 28, 1986 · 68 hours before
- Departed
- SNA · Santa Ana, CA
- Destination
- CCR · Concord, CA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- NONE
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 418 total · 300 in this make and model · 403 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 360° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BFL, 35 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.