Piper PA-28-236 N8447B

Summary

On 21 November 1996 at about 04:34 local time, a Piper PA-28-236 registered N8447B was involved in an accident near Lost Hills, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 November 1996 at 04:34

Classification

Accident

Location

Lost Hills, California, United States

Coordinates

35.6099, -119.8994

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-236

Registration

N8447B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hayward → Bermuda Dunes

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX97FA047

1 person died.

The pilot's continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which led to spatial disorientation and loss of aircraft control, and the pilot exceeding the aircraft's design stress limits during an attempted recovery. The noninstrument-rated pilot's failure to obtain a weather briefing, the weather conditions, and the dark night were factors.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft was found with the wings and empennage separated from the fuselage. The separations were approximately symmetrical on the left and right sides of the aircraft, and overload in character. Recorded weather data indicated clouds and light rain near the accident site at the time of the crash. The pilot was not instrument rated and his logbook did not reveal any recent instrument training or experience. The was no record of the pilot obtaining a preflight or in-flight weather briefing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.