Piper PA-24-250 N588CP

Summary

On 6 September 2024 at about 07:36 local time, a Piper PA-24-250 registered N588CP was involved in an accident near Hawthorne, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

6 September 2024 at 07:36

Classification

Accident

Location

Hawthorne, California, United States

Nearest airport

Jack Northrop Fld/Hawthorne Mu (HHR)

Coordinates

33.9182, -118.3541

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-250

Registration

N588CP

Category

Airplane

Year built

1958

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

WPR24FA295

2 people were seriously injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On September 6, 2024, at 0036 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-24-250, N588CP, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Hawthorne, California. The pilot and pilot rated passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The passenger of the airplane reported the intent of the flight was to conduct pattern work at Jack Northrup Field/Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR), but he did not recall any additional information regarding the accident flight. Witnesses in the area reported hearing a sputtering engine as the airplane departed the airport. One witness inside his residence located near the departure end of the runway reported that he heard a sputtering engine. He exited his residence and saw the accident airplane in a nose-up attitude and appeared to be trying to gain altitude; however, it continued to descend. The airplane started a left turn before it passed over a building and the witness lost sight of the airplane. Security camera recordings from Hawthorne City Hall and a nearby hotel captured the last portion of the accident flight. The recordings showed the airplane come into view in a left-wing low attitude and impacted a light pole, before it impacted the ground, where a postimpact fire ensued. Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane came to rest upright on a city street about 1 mile southwest of HHR. The first identified point of impact (FIPC) was a damaged light pole. The debris path extended from the FIPC on a southwesterly heading about 90 ft to the main wreckage. Various sections of the left wing to include the fuel tip tank and left aileron, nose landing gear and strut, and a portion of a propeller blade were located within the debris path. The main wreckage was mostly consumed by a postimpact fire. The airplane was recovered to a secure storage facility for further examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.