- Date
- June 20, 1989, 13:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Stanley, ID
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6471YPiper PA-23-250
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890620016249A
- Case key
- 40923
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
Pilot continued VFR flight into IMC conditions in mountainous terrain. Factors were snow squalls and obscured mountainous terrain in the area.
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
Aircraft was observed flying about 800 ft AGL along a river in a mountain valley with steep high terrain on both sides. Subsequently, it flew into snow squall, impacted trees 6000 ft MSL on hillside 1/4 mile from the river. Plt briefed on mountain obscurations, advised to update weather later in flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6471Y
- Reported as
- Piper PA-23-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 27-3766
- Airframe hours
- 4,461
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Gregory R. Rost
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 22, 1988
- Departed
- EAT · Wenatchee, WA
- Destination
- U15 · Challis, ID
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 38
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 3,400 total · 200 in this make and model · 3,100 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 25 knots, gusting 32
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- U15, 24 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.