Piper PA-28R-200 N3971X

Summary

On 27 October 2007 at about 02:06 local time, a Piper PA-28R-200 registered N3971X was involved in an accident near Cedar City, Utah, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 October 2007 at 02:06

Classification

Accident

Location

Cedar City, Utah, United States

Coordinates

37.4292, -112.9133

Aircraft

Piper PA-28R-200

Registration

N3971X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bountiful → Colorado City

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX08FA001

2 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while in cruise flight due to spatial disorientation. Contributing to the accident were the dark conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The non-instrument-rated private pilot's departure had been delayed, and he was in a hurry to fly home. The pilot elected to fly over mountainous terrain in dark, nighttime conditions. Recorded radar data shows that after cruising for nearly 2 hours, the airplane initially entered a slow descent from 12,600 to 11,100 feet. Thereafter, the radar track shows the airplane commencing a clockwise turn while continuing to descend. While reversing course, the pilot became spatially disoriented, and the airplane rapidly descended, as evidenced by its sudden disappearance from radar. During the descent the airplane broke apart. Wreckage was found on a 6,400-foot (mean sea level) mountain and was scattered over a 950 by 350 foot oval-shaped area. The major components that separated were the horizontal stabilator, the vertical tail surfaces, and the 6-foot-long outboard span of both wings. The propeller blades exhibited signatures consistent with the absorption of rotational energy during ground impact. No preimpact anomalies were found during the wreckage examination and all fractures were overload in character. The descending flight profile, followed by the course reversal away from the pilot's destination, was consistent with a spiral maneuver. The structural breakup resulted from aerodynamic forces induced by the pilot's recovery attempts that exceeded the airframe's strength.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.