- Date
- October 22, 1988, 12:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Big Pine, CA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N140RMPiper PA-28-140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881022047649A
- Case key
- 26186
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Pilot's failure to maintain proper altitude.
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 plt planned a x-c flight fm red bluff, CA, to mesa, AZ, with an intermediate refueling stop at bishop, CA. At bishop the plt topped off the fuel tanks & departed south down the owens valley. A CFI observed the acft's downwind departure & noted that the acft was climbing at 100 ft/min. After flying for several miles, the plt turned toward an area of deceptively slow rising terrain of a mountain pass. The plt entered the pass at a low altitude. The road's elevation increased & its direction began switching back and forth. The acft crashed & burned upon colliding with the rocky mountain, 150 feet above the highway. The density altitude was over 9000 ft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N140RM
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7125229
- Airframe hours
- 2,550
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Mueller, Henry R.
- Registered owner
- Henry R Mueller
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 17, 1987 · 720 hours before
- Departed
- BIH · Bishop, CA
- Destination
- FFZ · Mesa, AZ
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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 900 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.