- Date
- November 25, 1989, 17:05 local (Nov 26, 1989, 01:05 UTC)
- Place
- Boulder City, NV
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N416CPPiper PA-32-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891125046649A
- Case key
- 41152
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 did not attain proper alignment with the runway. Contributing to the accident was the ditch and the pilot's diverted attention.
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
The pilot reported that while making an approach to the runway in twilight conditions, he was more fixated on altitude, speed and the location of the threshold. The pilot did not notice that the airplane was misaligned with the runway, as the runway is only equipped with threshold lights. The airplane touched down between the threshold lights and traveled off the left side of the runway and ran into a ditch.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N416CP
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-40237
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K1A5, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Bellis, James E.
- Departed
- EAN · Wheatland, WY
- Airport
- BLD · Boulder City, runway 3, 2,965 × 60 ft, asphalt
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
- 65
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 952 total · 512 in this make and model · 900 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 190° at 20 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.