Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Tucson, Arizona 85730
Wednesday, August 29, 1984 23:00 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Weather at the time of the accident consisted of a high pressure system over the desert southwest with unrestricted visibility. No convective activity had been detected within several hours in the vicinity of the accident site. The sectional chart indicates the minimum altitude for aircraft flying over Saguaro National Park is ground elevation plus 2,000 feet. The chart also depicts Rincon Peak, the highest point in the park, as having an elevation of 8,482 feet msl. The eastbound aircraft collided with steeply rising terrain within the park boundary less than a mile north of Rincon Peak at the 7,500 foot level. There was no moon illumination at the time of the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
controlled flight into terrain that resulted from the pilot's failure to ensure a safe VFR altitude. The dark night, which restricted the pilot's view of terrain, was a factor in this accident.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/29/1984 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 2300 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | TUCSON |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 85730 |
| Event Date Year | 1984 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| 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 | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2250 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 274 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TUS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 2641 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 21 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| 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) | 30 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 28 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 190 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| 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) | 4000 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 31 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1530 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 14 2000 2:57PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Unknown |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4575L |
| NTSB Number | LAX84FA504 |
| 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 | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-32R-301T |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-32R-301 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32R-8029034 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3600 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 25 1984 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 121 |
| Airframe Hours | 1092 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ERNEST WILFRED LA FLAMME |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 7141 OBELISCO CIRCLE |
| Aircraft Owner City | CARLSBAD |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 92008 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | FLIGHT TRAILS |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 2188 PALOMAR AIRPORT ROAD |
| Operator City | CARLSBAD |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 92008 |
| 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 | CRQ |
| Departure City | CARLSBAD |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 2100 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | |
| Destination City | HOUSTON |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:36AM |
| 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 | -- |