Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Lucerne Valley, California 92356
Sunday, December 22, 1996 10:44 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot advised she was experiencing moderate to severe turbulence and was unable to maintain altitude. She requested the nearest airport and was given a heading and distance to Apple Valley. After she reported that her door popped open, radio and radar contact were lost. A witness reported that the aircraft was in level flight and then abruptly rolled to the right, pitched forward, and continued in a nose down attitude until it exploded into a towering, red fireball. The POH states that should the door open in flight, the pilot should slow the airspeed to reduce buffeting and then land at the nearest airport. It also states that should rough air be encountered, the pilot should slow the aircraft to maneuvering speed or slightly less, fly attitude, and avoid abrupt maneuvers. Weather forecasts were for moderate to severe turbulence, strong winds, scattered to broken clouds, and rain and icing conditions.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed after encountering turbulence, low level wind shear, and an open door.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/22/1996 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1044 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | LUCERNE VALLEY |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 92356 |
| Event Date Year | 1996 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1055 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 19 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KDA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1927 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 26 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 8000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 5000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 50 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 240 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 27 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 40 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 4 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 4 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1899 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 22 1996 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1130 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 10:30AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2377T |
| NTSB Number | LAX97FA070 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | Ground |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-23-250 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-23-250 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 27-2274 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4800 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.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 | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 28 1996 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 63 |
| Airframe Hours | 7559 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | P I C AIRCRAFT LEASING CORP. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 892 WILLIAMS STREET, SUITE A |
| Aircraft Owner City | CARSON CITY |
| Aircraft Owner State | NV |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 89701 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | JAY ARCEMONT |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 19301 CAMPUS DRIVE |
| Operator City | SANTA ANA |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 92707 |
| Operator Code | C3DA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| 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 Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | LAS |
| Departure City | LAS VEGAS |
| Departure State | NV |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 924 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | SNA |
| Destination City | SANTA ANA |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |