- Date
- August 17, 1992, 14:50 local (21:50 UTC)
- Place
- Incline Village, NV
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2406JPiper PA-18-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 21, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920817031969A
- Case key
- 27448
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
Was the pilot's in flight loss of airplane control due to physical incapacitation.
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 refueled the Piper cub and took off without mishap. The pilot was engaged in patrolling pipelines, and during this portion of the westbound route over 8,000 foot mountainous terrain he was positioning the airplane between segments. There were no witnesses to the crash and the pilot did not establish contact with ATC. The airplane crashed about 9 miles west of the departure airport. The airplane was found in a near vertical attitude, heading east, and with its engine about 4 feet beneath ground level. Exam of the airframe and engine revealed continuity of the flight control system, fuel in the engine and no evidence of any preimpact mechanical failures. Medical records indicated the pilot had experienced a pain in his chest. Family members reported that the pilot had recently experienced chest pains which were severe enough to result in the pilot interrupting his activity. During the autopsy the pathologist performed a microscopic exam of the heart and found nuclear pleomorphism and hyperchromatism. No acute changes were present.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2406J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-7909119
- Airframe hours
- 11,365
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Union Flights
- Registered owner
- Union Flights
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 23, 1992 · 100 hours before
- Departed
- O04 · Carson City, NV
- Destination
- SAC · Sacramento, 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
- 48
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,074 total · 1,283 in this make and model · 2,044 as pilot in command · 244 in the last 90 days · 58 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TRK, 12 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 N2406J · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.