- Date
- October 30, 1992, 19:25 local (Oct 31, 1992, 03:25 UTC)
- Place
- Kelso, CA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7902PPiper PA-24-180
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report September 14, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921030044489A
- Case key
- 27808
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 pilot's poor preflight planning; his inadequate weather evaluation; and his intentional VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing to the accident was the turbulence, rain and low clouds.
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-24-180 collided with level desert terrain. Residents of a nearby town reported severe weather conditions on the evening of accident. The noninstrument rated certificated private pilot received a 15 minute electronic weather briefing from duat services. The briefing included flight precautions for mountain obscuration, icing, and turbulence along the requested flight routing. Airmets had been issued for instrument flight rules conditions, mountain obscuration and turbulence. The wreckage examination disclosed the airplane struck the ground in a left wing down and nose level attitude. Paper from the pilot's duat weather briefing was found on the engine exhaust system at the accident site. The paper was burned in the area where it was touching the exhaust system and wrinkled from being wet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7902P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 3132
- Airframe hours
- 5,651
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1D, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Snider, Danny G.
- Registered owner
- Snider, Danny G.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 1991 · 94 hours before
- Departed
- OXR · Oxnard, CA
- Destination
- Washington, OK
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,303 total · 80 in this make and model · 1,250 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
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 N7902P · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.