Piper PA-24-250 N6502P

Summary

On 14 January 2025 at about 13:22 local time, a Piper PA-24-250 registered N6502P was involved in an accident near Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States. One person was on board and one died. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

14 January 2025 at 13:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States

Coordinates

41.1120, -109.2934

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-250

Registration

N6502P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1959

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Rock Springs → Apple Valley

Aircraft damage

Unknown

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

WPR25FA079

1 person died.

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 January 14, 2025, about 0622 mountain standard time, a Piper PA-24-250, N6502P, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Rock Springs, Wyoming. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The airplane departed Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport (RKS), Rock Springs, Wyoming, on a cross-country flight, with a destination of Apple Valley Airport (APV), Apple Valley, California, where the pilot was going for work. An alert notice (ALNOT) was issued when the pilot did not reach their intended destination. The wreckage was located the following day by local law enforcement. Review of preliminary ADS-B data showed that the airplane departed from RKS to the southwest and climbed to 10,175 ft mean sea level (msl). The airplane maintained this altitude on a southwesterly heading for about 11 minutes. Subsequently, the airplane made a descending 180° left turn to 8,400 ft msl, followed by a right climbing turn to about 9,000 ft msl before descending again to 8,400 ft msl on a southernly heading at the end of the flight track. The accident site was located about 1/4 miles south of the last data point of the flight track. Figure 1-ADS-B Flight track and accident site (illustrated). The accident site was located in a remote mountainous area at an elevation of approximately 8,450 ft msl. Examination of the accident site revealed the first identified point of impact was a group of damaged trees. The debris field extended from the first identified point of impact on a heading of about 246° magnetic for about 240 ft. All major structural components and other fragments of the airplane were spread throughout the debris field. The airplane wreckage will be retained for further examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.