Piper PA-24-250 N5431P

Summary

On 29 October 1987 at about 02:41 local time, a Piper PA-24-250 registered N5431P, operated by Marracci, Louis T, was involved in an accident near Buttonwillow, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

29 October 1987 at 02:41

Classification

Accident

Location

Buttonwillow, California, United States

Coordinates

35.4296, -119.4903

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-250

Registration

N5431P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Marracci, Louis T

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Ana → Concord

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX88FA028

1 person died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

A PIPER PA-24-250 COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN WHILE ON AN IFR FLIGHT. THE PILOT RECEIVED A WX BRIEFING FROM FSS. WHILE EN ROUTE, RADIO AND RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST, THEN REGAINED. THE PILOT STATED TO ATC THAT THE ACFT HAD BEEN STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. HE ELECTED TO CONTINUE HIS FLT TO HIS DEST. THE ACFT AGAIN WAS LOST FROM RADAR WHILE PLT WAS EXECUTING FREQUENCY CHANGE. WITNESSES REPORTED ACFT DESCENDING IN VERTICAL SPIRAL AND THEN IMPACTING GND VERTICALLY. WX RPRTS AND FORECASTS INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS, TURBULENCE, AND LIGHTNING WERE PRESENT ALONG FLIGHT. TWO PLT RPRTS INDICATED PRESENCE OF MODERATE TO SEVERE TURBULANCE IN VICINITY OF THE ACCIDENT SITE, WITHIN 1,000 FT OF ACFT CRUISE ALT. REVIEW OF PILOT'S LOGBOOK INDICATED HE WAS NOT IFR-CURRENT. EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE DID NOT DISCLOSE THE DAMAGE BY THE LIGHTNING STRIKE.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.