Piper PA-28-161 N3850M

Summary

On 14 April 1988 at about 21:26 local time, a Piper PA-28-161 registered N3850M, operated by Sypherd, Shawn D., was involved in an accident near Milford, Utah, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

14 April 1988 at 21:26

Classification

Accident

Location

Milford, Utah, United States

Coordinates

38.3799, -112.9303

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-161

Registration

N3850M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Sypherd, Shawn D.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Provo → St George

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN88FA096

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

THE PLT (WITH A RECENT INSTRUMENT RATING) RCVD A WX BRIEFING FM CEDAR CITY (CDC) FSS & FILED AN IFR FLT PLAN FM PROVO (PVU) TO ST GEORGE (SGU). CURRENT SGU WX WASN'T AVAILABLE, BUT WX FOR CDC (ABT 45 MI NNE) WAS PROVIDED. THE PLT WAS ADZDOF MOIST UNSTABLE AIR, RAIN, OBSCURED MTNS & CUMULUS CLOUDS ALONG THE ROUTE. ALSO, HE WAS ADZD OF A PIREP CONCERNING AN ENCTR WITH CLR ICG NR CDC AT 13,000'. APCHG MILFORD AT 11,000', THE PILOT CALLED CDC FSS & RCVD A WX UPDATE. CURRENT SGU WX WAS STILL NOT AVAILABLE, BUT HE WAS ADZD OF THUNDERSTORMS EN ROUTE. HE RETURNED TO ARTCC FREQ, GOT CLNC TO DESCEND TO 10,000', THEN TO CLIMB TO 12,000'. SOON THEREAFTER, RADIO AND RADAR CONTACT WERE LOST. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT BROKE UP IN FLT (WINGS & STABILIZERS SEPD) & WRECKAGE WAS SCATTERED OVER A 1-1/4 MI AREA. NO PRE-ACCIDENT CRACKS OR FATIGUE WAS FOUND. AN AIRCRAFT WAS SEEN FLYING INTO A WX CELL. GROUND WITNESSES THEN HEARD AN EXPLOSIVE NOISE AND SAW PARTS OF THE AIRCRAFT FALLING FM THE WX CELL. SOON THEREAFTER, PEA SIZE HAIL FELL FM THE CLOUD.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.