Piper PA-32R-301T N3562C

Summary

On 11 March 1994 at about 02:57 local time, a Piper PA-32R-301T registered N3562C, operated by IAN J. Kirson, was involved in an accident near Napa, California, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 March 1994 at 02:57

Classification

Accident

Location

Napa, California, United States

Coordinates

38.5490, -122.1498

Aircraft

Piper PA-32R-301T

Registration

N3562C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

IAN J. Kirson

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sacramento → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX94FA157

3 people died.

the pilot's selection of an en route descent altitude profile inadequate to clear all terrain along his intended flight path, and, his inadvertent VFR flight into IMC conditions. Factors in the accident were the dark night lighting conditions and the obscured ridge line.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and his passengers departed for an evening dinner flight to another town about 48 miles away. The pilot requested VFR advisories en route, but did not request MSAW monitoring. The initially selected cruise altitude was 2,500 feet msl. He requested a heading to his destination, which was provided by approach control. About 3 minutes later, he was told his destination airport was at 12 o'clock and 8 miles, which he acknowledged. About 1 minute later, radio and radar contact was lost and an ELT signal was received by the local center. According to radar data, during the last 6 minutes of flight the airplane descended from 1,800 feet msl to 1,300 feet with no altitude for the last five radar hits. The airplane collided with a power line on a ridge line at 1,300 feet msl, about 6 miles from the destination airport. The pilot had received an abbreviated weather briefing for the dark night flight. Witnesses reported that stratus clouds were obscuring the ridge line at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.