Piper PA-28-140 N4494X

Summary

On 18 March 2000 at about 02:15 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N4494X, operated by Jesse Joseph Perham, was involved in an accident near Dighton, Kansas, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 March 2000 at 02:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Dighton, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

38.4806, -100.4597

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N4494X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Jesse Joseph Perham

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Denver → Wichita

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CHI00FA090

3 people died.

the inadvertent stall. Factors relating to this accident were the pilot's inadvertent flight into known adverse weather conditions, the icing conditions, and improper in-flight planning by the pilot.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot contacted his wife an hour before taking off from Denver, Colorado, en route to Wichita, Kansas. He told her that he would be in Wichita in 4 hours. The airplane departed at 1700 mst on a VFR flight plan. An instrument flight plan was filed by the pilot, in flight, with Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). The airplane was handed off to the Kansas City ARTCC. No radio contact was established between the airplane and Kansas City ARTCC. At 2015 cst, Denver ARTCC's last reported radar contact with the airplane was at 4,500 feet msl, 7 miles north, and 5 miles west of the Dighton, Kansas Airport. At 2032 cst, Denver ARTCC contacted the Lane County, Kansas, Sheriff's Office, requesting assistance 'in locating a plane that disappeared from radar.' They were informed that they (Denver ARTCC) heard someone say, 'We're going down.' At 2058 cst, the airplane was located by Lane County Sheriff's deputies. Near the time of the accident, weather reporting stations within 60 miles of the accident site were reporting overcast ceiling, visibility from 1/2 to 3 miles with light rain, and temperatures and dew points at 32 degrees F. An examination of the wreckage revealed no anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.