SEA82FYM22

NTSB accident investigation · Piper 24-140 · Enterprise, OR · July 25, 1982

Accident · FatalFinal report
Date
July 24, 1982, 22:20 local (Jul 25, 1982, 05:20 UTC)
Place
Enterprise, OR
Injuries
3 fatal
Damage
Destroyed
Phase of flight
Maneuvering
Aircraft
N55492Piper 24-140
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
Status
Completed · report July 24, 1983
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19820724031649A
Case key
70606

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

On this page

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.

Loss of control - in flightManeuvering
Judgment - poorPilot in commandCause
Impairment(alcohol)Pilot in commandCause
Light condition - nightFactor
Terrain condition - mountainous/hillyFactor
Weather condition - high density altitudeFactor
Airspeed - not maintainedPilot in commandCause
Stall - inadvertentPilot in commandCause
In flight collision with terrain/waterDescent - uncontrolled

Analysis

Witnesses observed an aircraft fly over the city of Enterprise, Oregon on a bright night with clear sky conditions. Reportedly, the aircraft was flying very erratic; and just as it disappeared from the witnesses' sight, an explosion andfireball were observed where it disappeared. Accordimg to one witness, the aircraft appeared to maneuver up and then drop down before it crashed. The plane crashed on down sloping terrain in a nose low, right wing down attitude. The plane slid about 100 ft down hill and the wreckage was destroyed by fire. The propeller separated during impact and showed evidence of power; it was badly bent and had large gouge marks on the tips. The flight control cables were complete and unbroken to the tail and were continuous to both wings except where the wings had separated. A toxicological check of the pilot's blood revealed an alcohol level of 0.449%. The elevation of the crash site was about 3900 ft MSL.

Aircraft

Registration
N55492
Reported as
Piper 24-140
Category
Airplane
Serial number
28-7325417
Airframe hours
1,565
Engine
Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Destroyed
Fire
On-Ground
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Operator
Bruce C. Sehofield
Registered owner
Bruce C. Sehofield
Departed
Joseph, OR
Destination
Joseph, OR

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
53
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
Flight hours
334 total · 28 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
Visibility
10 statute miles

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.