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Aircraft Incidents and Accidents

Sunday, July 11, 2004 2:15 PM PDT
BRIDGEPORT, CALIFORNIA 93517

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's failure to attain an adequate altitude to clear mountainous terrain during a high density altitude condition.
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane collided with mountainous terrain while attempting to traverse the mountains at a density altitude approaching the climb capability limit of the airplane. The pilot reported that after departure he conducted circling climbs over the traffic pattern to gain altitude before heading west toward rising terrain to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. He stated that he did not remember exactly what altitude he climbed to, but estimated that it was around 9,000 to 9,500 feet mean sea level (msl). The pilot flew the airplane between two mountain peaks, which were separated by a 1-mile trough. As the airplane was flying between the peaks, it encountered a downdraft that sent the airplane in a nose down pitch attitude. The pilot attempted to recover, but found the engine could not produce enough power to attain a positive climb rate. The pilot leveled off the airplane and attempted to turn it to the left, but heard the stall warning horn sound. The pilot then tried to turn the airplane to the right, but the stall warning horn sounded again. The pilot pulled the nose up before the airplane impacted the ground. The Federal Aviation Administration inspector, who performed a post-accident examination of the airplane, reported that there was nothing wrong with the airplane that would have prevented its normal operation. The approximate density altitude at the accident site was calculated to be 12,300 feet, which according to the airplane information manual, would only allow a 60-foot-per-minute climb rate.
Event Information
Type of EventAccident 
Event Date7/11/2004 
Event Day of the WeekSunday 
Time of Event1415 
Event Time ZonePacific Daylight Time 
Event CityBridgeport 
Event StateCALIFORNIA 
Event Country-- 
Zipcode of the event site93517 
Event Date Year2004 
Event Date Month
MidAir Collision IndicatorNo 
On Ground Collision occurred ?No 
Event Location Latitude381555N 
Event Location Longitude1192311W 
Event Location Airport-- 
Event Location Nearest Airport ID-- 
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airportOff Airport/Airstrip 
Distance from airport in statute miles-- 
Degrees magnetic from airport-- 
Airport Elevation-- 
Weather Briefing CompletenessUnknown 
Investigator's weather sourceWeather Observation Facility 
Time of the weather observation1352 Pacific Daylight Time 
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees)154 
Weather Observation Facility IDMMH 
Elevation of weather observation facility7128 
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?)42 
Time Zone of the weather observationPDT 
Lighting ConditionsDay 
Lowest Ceiling Height-- 
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height-- 
Sky/Lowest/Cloud ConditionsClear 
Sky Condition for Lowest CeilingNone 
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet)-- 
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles)-- 
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10 
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius)27 
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit)-5 
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic)-- 
Variable Wind Indicator-- 
Wind Speed (knots)-- 
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm 
Wind Gust IndicatorNot Gusting 
Wind Gust (knots) -- 
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.25 
Density Altitude (feet)9700 
Intensity of Precipitation-- 
METAR weather report -- 
Event Highest InjuryNone 
On Ground, Fatal Injuries-- 
On Ground, Minor Injuries-- 
On Ground, Serious Injuries-- 
Injury Total Fatal-- 
Injury Total Minor-- 
Injury Total None
Injury Total Serious-- 
Injury Total All-- 
Investigating AgencyNTSB 
NTSB Docket Number (internal use)19010 
NTSB Notification SourceFAA  
NTSB Notification DateJul 11 2004 12:00AM 
NTSB Notification Time1755 
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket informationDMS 
Date of most recent change to recordJan 31 2006 7:35AM 
User who most recently changed recordNTSB\JOHB  
Basic weather conditionsVisual Meteorological Cond 
FAA District OfficeReno, Nevada 
Aircraft Involved
Aircraft #1
Aircraft Registration NumberN6106H 
NTSB NumberLAX04LA260 
Missing Aircraft Indicator-- 
Federal Aviation Reg. PartPart 91: General Aviation 
Type of Flight Plan filedVFR 
Flight plan Was Activated?Yes 
DamageSubstantial 
Aircraft FireNone 
Aircraft ExplosionNone 
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full NamePiper 
Aircraft ModelPA-28-161 
Aircraft Series Identifier-- 
Aircraft Serial Number28-7816222 
Certified Max Gross Weight2325 
Aircraft CategoryAirplane 
Aircraft Registration ClassU.S. Registered/U.S. Soil 
Aircraft is a homebuilt?No 
Flight Crew Seats-- 
Cabin Crew Seats-- 
Passenger Seats-- 
Total number of seats on the aircraft
Number of Engines
Fixed gear or retractable gearFixed 
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection100 Hour 
Date of Last InspectionMay 1 2004 12:00AM 
Airframe hours since last inspection-- 
Airframe Hours9094 
ELT InstalledYes 
ELT ActivatedNo 
ELT Aided Location of Event SiteNo 
ELT Type-- 
Aircraft Owner NameOcean Air Flight Services, Inc. 
Aircraft Owner Street Address170 Aviation Way 
Aircraft Owner CityWatsonville 
Aircraft Owner StateCA 
Aircraft Owner CountryUSA  
Aircraft Owner Zipcode95076 
Operator is an individual?No 
Operator Name-- 
Operator Same as Owner?Yes 
Operator Is Doing Business As-- 
Operator Address Same as Owner?Yes 
Operator Street Address-- 
Operator City-- 
Operator State-- 
Operator Country-- 
Operator Zip code-- 
Operator Code-- 
Owner has at least one certificateNone 
Other Operator of large aircraft?-- 
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation-- 
Operator Certificate Number-- 
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not-- 
Indicates Domestic or International Flight-- 
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail-- 
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary)Personal 
Second Pilot on BoardNo 
Departure Point Same as EventYes 
Departure Airport CodeO57  
Departure CityBridgeport 
Departure StateCA 
Departure CountryUSA 
Departure Time1400 
Departure Time ZonePDT 
Destination Same as Local Flt-- 
Destination Airport CodeO22  
Destination CityColumbia 
Destination StateCA 
Destination CountryUSA 
Specific Phase of FlightEmergency landing 
Report sent to ICAO?No 
Evacuation occurredNo 
Date of most recent change to recordOct 21 2005 5:28PM 
User who most recently changed recordCOOS  
Since inspection or accidentLast Inspection 
Event Location Runway Number and LocationNA 
Runway Length-- 
Runway Width-- 
Sight Seeing flightNo 
Air Medical FlightNo 
Medical Flight-- 

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