- Date
- January 6, 1991, 18:35 local (Jan 7, 1991, 02:35 UTC)
- Place
- Red Bluff, CA
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N66SLPiper PA 34-200T
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report December 4, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910106000279A
- Case key
- 27087
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
The failure of the pilot in command to detect a descent below the minimum descent altitude for the approach in use.
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 pilot said the flight was normal until established on the VOR approach. After the aircraft completed the procedure turn and was inbound to the VOR the pilot noticed that the aircraft was descending through about 1,300 feet MSL (1,000 feet AGL) and that the descent rate was stabalized and was sufficient to make the crossing restriction at the VOR. The pilot stated that she then scanned the VOR navigation heads 'for a few seconds' to cross check the aircraft position on the approach course radial. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft flew into level terrain about 1.5 miles south of the airport.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N66SL
- Reported as
- Piper PA 34-200T
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 34-8070038
- Engine
- Continental TS10-360EB, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Executive/Corporate · Part 91
- Operator
- Shasta Livestock, Inc
- Departed
- RDM · Redmond, OR
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- RBL · Red Bluff, runway 33, 5,984 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 27
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 1,925 total · 446 in this make and model · 1,784 as pilot in command · 163 in the last 90 days · 34 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Lowest ceiling
- 700 ft overcast
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- RBL, 1 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.
Other investigations on N66SL · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.