Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Gorman, California 93243
Monday, October 30, 2000 8:10 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The single engine airplane collided with terrain in a right wing low, nose low attitude after the pilot lost control and stalled the airplane. The commercial pilot just received his instrument airplane flight instructor rating the day before the accident. He and his passenger departed on a cross-country visual flight rules (VFR) flight. The departure airport was reporting VFR conditions at the time of departure; however, weather observations in the vicinity of the accident site were reporting instrument flight rules weather conditions with low ceilings. Witnesses, who observed the accident, described the airplane flying low over an interstate and thought the airplane was attempting to land on the road. They described the airplane's wings as "shaking or vibrating," and "moving side to side" before it made sharp right turn and descended to ground impact. A post-accident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no pre-impact anomalies that would have affected its operation. Toxicological tests on the pilot revealed he was utilizing at least two different substances; one being a multisymptom cold reliever and the other being a nutritional supplement. Dextromethorphan and its metabolites, doxylamine, ephedrine and its metabolites, and acetaminophen were all detected in the pilot's system. Some of the aforementioned drugs impose impairing side effects, where others acted as stimulants. Adverse side effects of the medications and distraction or sensory disturbance as a result of the condition for which the medications were ingested, may have contributed to the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A contributing factor was the pilot's use of impairing medications.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/30/2000 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 810 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Gorman |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 93243 |
| Event Date Year | 2000 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 344738N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1185108W |
| 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 | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 811 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 150 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SDB |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 4517 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 7 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 4000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 300 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Broken |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 2 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 330 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.02 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 3945 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 14453 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 30 2000 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 830 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 25 2003 11:36AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N16503 |
| NTSB Number | LAX01LA029 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28-140 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-28-140 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-7325286 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2150 |
| 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 | Nov 9 1999 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 45 |
| Airframe Hours | 3289.2 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Daniel Sweet/Kevin Weil |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Milwaukie |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97267 |
| 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 certificate | None |
| 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 Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | WJF |
| Departure City | Lancaster |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 740 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | VUO |
| Destination City | Vancouver |
| Destination State | WA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 23 2003 3:01PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |