Piper PA-32-300 N4063W

Summary

On 28 June 2008 at about 21:50 local time, a Piper PA-32-300 registered N4063W was involved in an accident near Mount Charleston, Nevada, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 June 2008 at 21:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Mount Charleston, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

North Las Vegas (VGT)

Coordinates

36.2639, -115.6569

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-300

Registration

N4063W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

North Las Vegas → Byron

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX08FA203

4 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from mountainous terrain and his selection of a cruise altitude that provided inadequate terrain clearance. Contributing to the accident were the high density altitude and the rapidly rising terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot's initial course after takeoff would have put the airplane passing to the north of a mountain range. As the airplane continued the climb, the pilot changed course towards the mountainous terrain. The air traffic controller asked the pilot if he would be flying southwest of the mountain range, to which the pilot replied in the affirmative. The air traffic controller then terminated radar services. The airplane then made two heading changes and continued to fly into a mountain valley area. Witnesses located about 6 miles further into the valley observed the airplane flying at altitudes of 300 feet above ground level and below, and towards rising terrain. Witnesses additionally reported hearing steady engine noise consistent with high rpm. The airplane then collided with a tree and rising terrain at the base of a box canyon. The accident site was located at 7,660 feet, on a 10-degree uphill sloping valley floor. The accident site was about 6 miles west, and 860 feet above the final radar return, and 26 miles west, and 5,455 feet above the departure airport. Steep sloping canyon walls with elevations ranging between 10,000 and 11,918 feet surrounded the site immediately to the north, west, and south. From the accident site's elevation, the peak of the canyon's rim rose in excess of the airplane's climb performance capability. The calculated density altitude at the accident elevation was about 11,000 feet. The service ceiling for the airplane at a maximum gross weight was 16,250 feet. Within the valley area, about 4 miles west of the last radar return, a course reversal turn would have been possible using a bank angle of about 30 degrees. At the accident location, there was insufficient clearance from terrain to perform a course reversal. Investigators found no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures during the examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.