- Date
- December 6, 1992, 12:14 local (20:14 UTC)
- Place
- Missing Acft, CA
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Unknown
- Aircraft
- N81453Piper PA-28-181
- Weather
- Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921206049479A
- Case key
- 27834
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
Undetermined.
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
On December 6, 1992 at 1054 hours, the pilot telephoned riverside, California FAA flight service station (fss) and requested a weather briefing for his intended flight from his departure airfield to his destination. The fss briefer told the pilot that visual flight rules flights were not recommended from his intended departure location to his destination. The pilot asked if the weather was going to improve or get worse. The fss briefer said the weather would continually get worse throughout the day. The pilot decided to go ahead with his planned flight. The pilot, with his 3 passengers aboard, was cleared for takeoff at 1203 hours. The pilot contacted FAA departure control and received advisories until radar service was terminated at 1214 hours. No further transmissions were recorded from the pilot. When the airplane and its occupants did not arrive at its destination family members notified local authorities. A search was unsuccessful. The damage and injury classification are presumed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N81453
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-8090216
- Airframe hours
- 3,851
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- West Valley Flying Club
- Registered owner
- Garry E. Abel
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 2, 1992 · 75 hours before
- Departed
- SBA · Santa Barbara, CA
- Destination
- PAO · Palo Alto, 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
- 31
- Certificates
- Private, Foreign
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 260 total · 25 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Day
- Wind
- 100° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,800 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SBA, 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.