Piper PA-30 N802Y
29 March 1985 · Death Valley, California, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 29 March 1985 at about 00:00 local time, a Piper PA-30 registered N802Y, operated by Underwood Assoc. Inc., was involved in an accident near Death Valley, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.
The record
- Date
- at 00:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Death Valley, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Death Valley (L06)
- Coordinates
- 36.6008, -116.8308
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-30
- Registration
- N802Y
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Underwood Assoc. Inc.
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Business
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Death Valley → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX85LA190
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.
Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.
Read the full NTSB narrative
DURING A FLT FROM RENO, NV TO PHOENIX, AZ, THERE WAS A PARTIAL POWER LOSS IN THE LEFT ENG AS THE ACFT WAS CLIMBING THRU 15,000 FT WITH AN OUTSIDE AIR TEMP OF -15 DEG. THE FUEL SELECTORS COULD NOT BE MOVED, SO THE PLT RETARDED THE RIGHT ENG POWER & DESCENDED. THE LEFT ENG CONTINUED TO RUN ROUGH, SO HE DIVERTED & LANDED AT THE DEATH VALLEY ARPT. ABOUT 1/2 HR AFTER LANDING, THE FUEL SELECTOR COULD BE MOVED. THE PLT SAID HE DRAINED THE FUEL TANKS UNTIL THE ENGS RAN SMOOTHLY. HE THEN LOADED HIS PASSENGERS & STARTED BOTH ENGS. WHILE TAXIING TO TAKEOFF, THE LEFT ENG LOST POWER & WOULD NOT RESTART. THE PASSENGERS DEPLANED & THEN THE PLT MADE A SINGLE ENG TAKEOFF. AFTER THE ACFT BECAME AIRBORNE, IT CLIMBED BRIEFLY, THEN BEGAN TURNING TO THE LEFT. AFTER TURNING ABOUT 130 DEG, THE ACFT IMPACTED THE GROUND BETWEEN 2 SAND DUNES. WATER WAS FOUND IN THE LEFT ENG SERVO & RIGHT MAIN FUEL SUMP. A SMALL AMOUNT OF WATER WAS FOUND MIXED WITH FUEL IN THE MAIN TANKS.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-30 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Jul 1985 | Piper PA-30 | Worcester, Massachusetts, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 5 Aug 1985 | Piper PA-30 | Kodiak, Alaska, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 28 Jul 1985 | Piper PA-30 | Jarbridge, Nevada, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 14 Aug 1985 | Piper PA-30 | Hollister, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 15 Apr 1985 | Piper PA-30 | Worthington, Indiana, United States | - | Fatal | 3 |
| 23 Jun 1985 | Piper PA-30 | Manhattan, Kansas, United States | Vandenberg AFB Flying Club | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Mar 1985 | Mooney M20C | Apple Valley, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 22 Mar 1985 | Cessna 152 | Shafter, California, United States | Air Center International, Inc. | Minor injuries | - |
| 23 Mar 1985 | Cessna 150 | Banning, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 15 Oct 1985 | Rotorway EXECUTIVE | El Monte, California, United States | Frank Louis Lillo | No injuries | - |
| 2 Apr 1985 | Cessna 414 | Eagle Mountain, California, United States | - | Unknown | - |
| 31 Mar 1985 | Bell 206A | San Diego, California, United States | Blue Bird Express Helicopters | Serious injuries | - |