LAX99FA316

The pilot departed on a multi state cross-country flight and was reported missing when the airplane failed to arrive at the destination. The pilot originally had filed an IFR flight plan the night before his proposed departure and also obtained a weather briefing. The weather information contained in the briefing was substantially correct. He was delayed due to fog from his estimated time of departure and never refiled or opened the flight plan. CAP search aircraft located the wreckage 1 week after the accident. The aircraft was found at the 11,760-foot level of a mountain and about 1,000 feet below the peak. The site is about 2 miles south of the route of flight filed in his flight plan. Ground witnesses said there were gusty winds, heavy rain, and thunderstorms in the area the day of the crash, with clouds obscuring the mountaintop where the accident occurred. In his flight plan, the pilot had originally filed for 13,000 feet, and pilot reports during the morning and early afternoon indicated that the cloud bases were 10,000 to 12,000 feet over the mountains, with higher layers to 24,000 feet. Conditions were favorable for light to moderate clear and/or mixed icing in clouds and precipitation above 12,000 feet. No preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures were found during examination of the airframe and engine. A review of the pilot's logbook indicated that he had 223 hours of actual instrument time and 71 hours of simulated instrument time. About 4 months preceding the accident, he had logged 3 hours.

History of flight

On September 18, 1999, about 1300 hours Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-24-180, N5673P, collided with mountainous terrain on Mount Gibbs near June Lake, California. The airplane, owned and operated by the pilot, was destroyed. The private pilot and his passenger received fatal injuries. The airplane was being operated under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 for the personal flight. An IFR flight plan was filed, but never activated. The flight originated at the Petaluma, California, airport between 1030 and 1130 as a cross-country flight to Bryce Canyon, Utah.

When family members failed to hear from the pilot or passenger by September 20, they reported the airplane missing. An ALNOT was issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and search efforts were begun by the California Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). In subsequent coordination discussions, the CAP verbally told Safety Board investigators that the pilot departed Petaluma airport about 1030, did not file a flight plan, and did not talk with Air Traffic Control. They were unable to find any recorded radar data that could be connected to the accident airplane, and conducted a wide area airborne search. No Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) signals were received or reported by any source from the downed airplane.

Safety Board investigator interviews with family members disclosed that the pilot had indicated he was going to fly from Petaluma to Bryce Canyon. The pilot intended to spend 1 night at the Bryce Canyon Resort, and then he was going to fly to the Santa Fe, New Mexico, area to visit a guest ranch. The family was unclear what his return route of flight was going to be.

A witness who has an airplane in a hangar at the Petaluma airport stated to Safety Board investigators that that it was foggy with low ceilings early in the morning on September 18, and the weather began to clear about 1100 to 1130. He said he watched the pilot takeoff about 1100 to 1130, with nothing unusual about the takeoff that he observed. The witness indicated that the accident airplane took off with a group of "about 4 airplanes" once the weather began to lift.

Based on information found by the family on the pilot's home computer, Safety Board investigators contacted the DUATS contractor. Two contacts were recorded under the pilot's account number, and the DUATS contractor provided the records of those contacts. The first one occurred on September 17 at 1109, and consisted of the pilot filing an IFR flight plan for the trip. The second contact on September 18 at 0603 consisted of a standard weather briefing. Full transcripts of the DUATS sessions are appended to this file.

The flight plan information as entered by the pilot consisted of the airplane's true airspeed of 130 knots, an estimated departure time from the Petaluma airport of 0800, and a requested cruise altitude of 13,000 feet. His route of flight was listed as SGD (Scaggs Island VOR), ECA (Stockton VOR), federal airway V244, ILC, federal airway V293, BCE (Bryce Canyon airport). He stated his destination was Bryce Canyon airport. According to FAA facility records, the flight plan was never activated. The contents of the weather briefing are discussed in the METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION section of this narrative.

On September 24, 1999, at 1658, the Mono County Sheriff's Department dispatch center received a telephone report of a downed aircraft in the Mono Pass area, northwest of June Lake. The report came from the CAP, who reported the discovery of the single engine fixed low wing airplane. Search and Rescue personnel reached the location and determined the wreckage was the missing airplane. The accident site is on Mt. Gibbs at the 11,760-foot level, and is approximately 25 miles northwest of the Mammoth Lakes Airport. The site is also approximately 2 miles south of the centerline of federal airway V244.

Personnel information

The pilot's Airman and Medical Certification files, maintained by the FAA in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, were reviewed. According to the files, the pilot held a private pilot certificate with airplane ratings for single engine land, multiengine land, and instruments. The most recent third-class medical certificate was issued on November 2, 1998, with the limitation that correcting lenses for near and distant vision be worn.

A review of the pilot's personal logbook indicates that he had approximately 1,070 hours in single engine land airplanes, 670 hours in a multiengine airplane, and about 1,750 hours of total flight time. He had logged 223 hours of actual instrument time, with the most recent actual instrument flight being in May 1999 for a total of 3.0 hours. The most recent biennial flight review found in the logbook was completed on August 28, 1997, in a Piper PA-18-150.

Aircraft information

The airplane was a 1959 Piper PA-24-180. According to the aircraft logbook, the last annual inspection was performed on September 2, 1998, at a recording tach time of 490.6 hours and a total airframe time of 5,994.6 hours. The altimeter/static system was inspected in accordance with 14 CFR 91.411 on June 11, 1998.

Meteorological information

As noted in the HISTORY OF FLIGHT section of this narrative, the pilot logged onto the DUATS system at 0603 on the morning of departure, and requested a low altitude weather briefing for the route of flight listed on his IFR flight plan. Transcripts of the briefing session are appended to this file. The San Francisco Area forecast viewed by the pilot was issued at 0345 on September 18, and included flight precautions for coastal IFR conditions and mountain obscuration in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The area of the accident site was forecast to have scattered clouds to 15,000 feet with light rain showers, becoming scattered thunderstorms with tops to 40,000 feet by 1300. A SIGMET was in effect for scattered thunderstorms over the route, and AIRMET Sierra was valid for coastal IFR conditions and mountain obscuration. The radar summary was showing no echoes.

According to recollections of the Mono County Chief Deputy Coroner, who lives in Mammoth Lakes, it was a cloudy and blustery day. He recalled that there were gusty winds, thunderstorms, and frequent rainsqualls during the day. He estimated that the cloud ceiling was about 10,000 feet. Additionally, he estimated that the winds over the ridge tops and through the mountain passes were in the range of 20-40 miles per hour.

A local sheriff's officer and the airport manager at Mammoth Lakes Airport stated that the weather conditions were rainy and cloudy with thunderstorms in the area most of the day. The officer said he was in the town of Mammoth Lakes, and that there were gusty winds and heavy thunderstorm activity during the afternoon with brief periods where it would quit raining.

Residents of Lee Vining, a community approximately 16 miles north of June Lake and about 4 miles east of the accident site, indicated that the weather was heavy rain "all day" with low clouds and calm winds. A business owner in Lee Vining said that on the 18th, it was raining heavily all day with low clouds. Additionally, the Fire Chief in June Lake indicated that, according to their logs, it was cloudy with rain on the 18th.

The AWOS report for Mammoth Lakes airport was obtained for the accident date. At 0700, the weather was reported to be 5,000 scattered, 7,500 broken, 8,000 overcast with 10 miles visibility. The temperature was reported to be 46 degrees, with a dew point of 41 degrees. At 1200, the weather was reported to be 1,400 scattered, 7,000 broken, 8,000 broken with 10 miles visibility, temperature of 52 degrees, and a dew point of 44 degrees.

A Safety Board staff meteorologist compiled a Meteorological Factual Report. In pertinent part, the meteorologist found that the Surface Analysis chart prepared by the National Weather Service (N