Salt Lake City Muni 2 Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

West Jordan, Utah 84084
Wednesday, September 2, 1998 20:30 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A witness riding on his dirt motorcycle parallel to the powerlines saw two bright flashes and heard a loud bang from behind. The airplane crashed 50 to 75 feet in front of him. Other witnesses reported observing a flash, hearing a loud noise, and observing the airplane descending vertically towards the ground. The airplane had struck the top static line on a transmission tower, severing the right wing and empennage. The transmission tower is about 100 feet agl. Airport traffic pattern altitude is 800 feet agl. The accident occurred in visual meteorological conditions, during the hours of darkness, about 2 miles west of the airport. The transmission lines run parallel to the runway.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain proper airport traffic pattern altitude. Factors were night lighting conditions and the unseen static line.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/2/1998
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 2030
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City WEST JORDAN
Event State UTAH
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 84084
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport SALT LAKE CITY MUNI 2
Event Location Nearest Airport ID U42
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 4
Degrees magnetic from airport 250
Airport Elevation 4603
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1955 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID U42
Elevation of weather observation facility 4603
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 6803
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 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 940
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 2 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2130
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 23 2001 1:55PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8232B
NTSB Number FTW98FA384
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172
Aircraft Series Identifier 172
Aircraft Serial Number 36032
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 15 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 264
Airframe Hours 4720
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HOOSHANG SHABESTARI
Aircraft Owner Street Address 8672 ESCALADE CIR.
Aircraft Owner City SALT LAKE CITY
Aircraft Owner State UT
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 84121
Operator is an individual? --
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 certificate None
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 U42
Departure City WEST JORDAN
Departure State UT
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 23 2001 1:55PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 34
Runway Length 5860
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --