# NTSB WPR24FA295: Piper PA-24-250, N588CP, Hawthorne, CA, September 6, 2024

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Class 3 · Field · Preliminary report
- Date: September 6, 2024, 00:36 local (07:36 UTC)
- Place: Hawthorne, CA · City Street
- Coordinates: 33.918212, -118.35411 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.9182&lon=-118.3541&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Takeoff: Loss of engine power (partial)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342)
- Highest injury: Serious injuries
- Injuries: 2 serious
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: Piper Aircraft Inc. - Air Safety, Federal Aviation Administration, Lycoming Engines Div of AVCO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 195067
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR24FA295
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/195067/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR24FA295

## Preliminary report

On September 6, 2024, at 0036 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-24-250, N588CP, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Hawthorne, California. The pilot and pilot rated passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The passenger of the airplane reported the intent of the flight was to conduct pattern work at Jack Northrup Field/Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR), but he did not recall any additional information regarding the accident flight. Witnesses in the area reported hearing a sputtering engine as the airplane departed the airport. One witness inside his residence located near the departure end of the runway reported that he heard a sputtering engine. He exited his residence and saw the accident airplane in a nose-up attitude and appeared to be trying to gain altitude; however, it continued to descend. The airplane started a left turn before it passed over a building and the witness lost sight of the airplane. Security camera recordings from Hawthorne City Hall and a nearby hotel captured the last portion of the accident flight. The recordings showed the airplane come into view in a left-wing low attitude and impacted a light pole, before it impacted the ground, where a postimpact fire ensued. Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane came to rest upright on a city street about 1 mile southwest of HHR. The first identified point of impact (FIPC) was a damaged light pole. The debris path extended from the FIPC on a southwesterly heading about 90 ft to the main wreckage. Various sections of the left wing to include the fuel tip tank and left aileron, nose landing gear and strut, and a portion of a propeller blade were located within the debris path. The main wreckage was mostly consumed by a postimpact fire. The airplane was recovered to a secure storage facility for further examination.

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Takeoff: Loss of engine power (partial)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA-24-250, 8 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342/sequence.md?model=7102404), [All aircraft, 1,858 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342/sequence.md)
- [Emergency descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Piper PA-24-250, 55 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=7102404), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N588CP](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N588CP), registered now, S/N 24-431, built 1958 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-24-250
- Registry model: [Piper PA-24-250](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24-250) (registry code 7102404) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (registry code 41532, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 24-431
- Year built: 1958
- Damage: Destroyed
- Fire: On-Ground
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Airport: HHR, Jack Northrop Fld/Hawthorne Muni, runway 07/25, 4,884 × 100 ft, asphalt

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night
- Wind: calm
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 75 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter: 29.83 inHg
- Observed at: KHHR, 1 nm away
- METAR: KHHR 060753Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 24/18 A2983 RMK AO2 RAE12 SLP100 P0000 T02440183 403280222

## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20240906014929A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240906014929A), Sep 6, 2024: Piper PA-24-250, Hawthorne, CA, Destroyed, 1 fatal. At 12:36 am on 9-6-24 [privacy data omitted] Piper pa 24-250 commanche crashed on 126th st. just southwest of [privacy data omitted]. Pilot and 1 passenger…

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

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