Piper PA-28-181 N8444A

Summary

On 30 April 1987 at about 00:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N8444A was involved in an accident near Newhall, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

30 April 1987 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Newhall, California, United States

Coordinates

34.3602, -118.4691

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N8444A

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Antioch → Burbank

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX87FA196

1 person died.

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

AT ABOUT 1440 PDT, THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PLT DEPD ANTIOCH CA, ON A FLT TO BURBANK, CA. NO KNOWN IN-FLT COMMUNICATIONSWERE MADE UNTIL THE PLT CONTACTED TRACON AT 1725 PDT. AT THAT TIME, HE RPRTD INBOUND AT 7500' & REQUESTED A SPECIAL VFR CLNC TO THE ARPT. HE WAS TOLD TO MAINT VFR & WAS ADZD THE WX AT BURBANK (ELEV 775') WAS 700' OVERCAST WITH 1 MI VIS, FOG & LGT DRIZZLE. SEVERAL MINUTES LATER, COMMUNICATION WITH THE ACFT WAS LOST. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT CRASHED ON A RIDGELINE APRX 9 MI NNW OF THE BURBANK ARPT. IMPACT OCCURRED IN A SHALLOW, WINGS LEVEL DESCENT AT AN ELEVATION OF ABOUT 2600'. NO PREIMPACT PART MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE WAS EVIDENT. NO RECORD WAS FOUND OF A PRE-FLT WX BRIEFING. MTNS TOPS IN THE AREA WERE FORECAST TO BE OBSCURED; CLOUD TOPS WERE RPRTD AT 4500'. TRACES OF MEDICATION (METABOLITES OF CHLORPHENIRAMINE & BENZODIAZIPINE) WERE DETECTED ONLY IN THE PLT'S URINE; TOXICOLOGY TESTS OF HIS BLOOD WERE NEGATIVEFOR ALCOHOL & DRUGS.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.