Piper PA28R N4958J

Summary

On 25 October 2019 at about 04:23 local time, a Piper PA28R registered N4958J was involved in an accident near Shelter Cove, California, 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

25 October 2019 at 04:23

Classification

Accident

Location

Shelter Cove, California, United States

Nearest airport

Shelter Cove (0Q5)

Coordinates

39.7892, -123.9711

Aircraft

Piper PA28R

Registration

N4958J

Category

Airplane

Year built

1968

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Shelter Cove → Novato

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

WPR20FAMS1

2 people died.

Undetermined due to lack of available evidence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness reported that the pilot and passenger departed in dark night conditions with no visible horizon. After takeoff, the airplane made a left turn. Flight track data first identified the airplane about 2.8 nautical miles southeast of the departure airport and over the ocean. The airplane was at an indicated altitude of about 3,325 ft mean sea level (msl) and was transmitting a beacon code of 1200. The airplane maneuvered and made a right 360o turn followed by a left 360o turn, then reversed course, conducted a figure-eight turn, and headed south-southeast bound. It gradually climbed to about 6,000 ft msl before entering a left descending turn and rapidly losing altitude. The track data indicated that the airplane descended from about 5,800 ft to 2,850 ft msl in the last 24 seconds of recorded track data. A search for the airplane found no debris, and the airplane remains missing. The flight track data are consistent with a loss of airplane control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.