Piper PA-28-181 N4321N

Summary

On 3 July 1994 at about 23:03 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N4321N, operated by Inbound Aviation, was involved in an accident near So. Lake Tahoe, 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

3 July 1994 at 23:03

Classification

Accident

Location

So. Lake Tahoe, California, United States

Nearest airport

Lake Tahoe (TVL)

Coordinates

38.8395, -120.0103

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N4321N

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Inbound Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → San Jose

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX94FA272

3 people died.

the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during initial climb under high-density altitude weather conditions and a resultant inadvertent stall/spin. Factors which contributed to the accident were the pilot's overconfidence in his personal ability, and his lack of experience flying the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PILOT BEGAN HIS TAKEOFF FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE 8,544-FOOT- LONG RUNWAY. AN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE BECOME AIRBORNE AFTER ROLLING BETWEEN 2,500 AND 3,000 FEET. WITNESSES REPORTED THE AIRPLANE PITCHED UP AND DOWN SEVERAL TIMES AND WAS FLYING SLOWLY AS IT CLIMBED BETWEEN 100 AND 200 FEET AGL. WHILE STILL OVER THE RUNWAY AND OUT OF GROUND EFFECT, THE AIRPLANE COMMENCED A STEEP (45 TO 90 DEGREE) LEFT BANK AND CRASHED INTO A FIELD 900 FEET EAST OF THE RUNWAY. WRECKAGE AND GROUND IMPACT SIGNATURES WERE CONSISTENT WITH THE AIRPLANE HAVING COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN WHILE IN AN 80-DEGREE LEFT BANK. NO MECHANICAL MALFUNCTIONS WERE FOUND WITH THE AIRPLANE. DURING THE PRECEDING 20-MONTH-LONG PERIOD SINCE THE PILOT RECEIVED A PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE, HE HAD FLOWN AIRPLANES FOR 6 HOURS. HIS TOTAL EXPERIENCE IN THE PIPER AIRPLANE WAS 3.1 HOURS OF WHICH 1.4 HOURS HAD BEEN A CHECKOUT FLIGHT GIVEN BY A CFI. THE CFI REPORTED HE HAD NOT CHECKED OUT THE PILOT AT HIGH-DENSITY ALTITUDE AIRPORTS. THE CALCULATED DENSITY ALTITUDE WAS ABOUT 8,570 FEET.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.