Piper PA-28-180 N3624R
14 January 2002 · Groveland, California, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 14 January 2002 at about 22:50 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N3624R was involved in an accident near Groveland, California, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 22:50
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Groveland, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- None
- Coordinates
- 36.1564, -119.3261
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-180
- Registration
- N3624R
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Pine Mountain → Tulare
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX02LA066
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
the pilot's improper preflight planning and improper weather evaluation.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The airplane collided with a vehicle while attempting to make a precautionary landing on a highway. When the pilot arrived in the destination area he was confronted with a low stratus cloud condition. He diverted to another airport and landed. He contacted an operator at the destination, who told him that there were visual flight operations there with cloud bases about 1,500 to 2,000 feet. He departed the diversionary airport and proceeded towards his destination. Unable to descend through or maneuver around the stratus, he returned to the original diversionary airport, which was now covered by the stratus deck, as were other local airports. Realizing he was now too low on fuel to reach an airport in visual conditions, he contacted Oakland Air Traffic Control Center and requested assistance. The center provided vectors towards airports, but due to the weather conditions, the pilot was unable to find the airports. The consensus was to land the airplane as soon as possible and before fuel exhaustion. The pilot spotted a forestry camp with a windsock near a highway. He was successful in landing on the highway; however, the highway had a curve that prevented him from seeing an on-coming vehicle. He attempted to avoid the vehicle but the wing tip clipped it, causing him to lose control and collide with trees.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-28 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Jan 2002 | Piper PA-28-180 | Oxford, Massachusetts, United States | Eagle East Aviation | Minor injuries | - |
| 25 Sep 2002 | Piper PA-28-180 | Yellow Pine, Idaho, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 14 Nov 2002 | Piper PA-28-201T | La Grande, Oregon, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 20 Mar 2002 | Piper PA-28-180 | Denio, Nevada, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 18 Aug 2002 | Piper PA-28-180 | Deerfield, Virginia, United States | John P. Zachary | Fatal | 2 |
| 15 Nov 2002 | Piper PA-28-140 | Climax, North Carolina, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
All 9,402 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Jul 2002 | Ayres S2R-T34 | Firebaugh, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 13 Nov 2002 | Beechcraft A36TC | San Andreas, California, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 5 May 2002 | Sierra RAF 2000 GTX-SE | Lompoc, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 15 Mar 2002 | Trenti RV-4 | Jacumba, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 23 Feb 2002 | Thunder and Colt COLT 120 A | Moreno Valley, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 21 Sep 2002 | Pzl-Bielsko SZD-42-2 JANTAR | Hemet, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |