Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
El Dorado, California 95667
Sunday, December 2, 2001 18:15 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane collided with the ground in a steep nose down attitude at high speed. There were no known witnesses to the accident. No flight plan had been filed for the personal flight and no records were found of an FAA preflight weather briefing or en route communications with any FAA facility. The accident site is about 8 miles east of the flight's intended destination airport. Examination of available weather data disclosed that an unusually strong late fall weather system was affecting the general accident site area. Overcast clouds were banked over the Sierra Nevada foothills and consisted of a southwest-northeast oriented cloud band with scattered light rain showers present in the accident area. Cloud bases were probably 1,000 to 2,000 feet above ground level, and cloud tops were probably around 16,000 feet msl. Winds and temperatures at the accident airplane's estimated flight envelope of 3,000 to 4,500 feet msl were southwesterly at 30 knots and 34 to 41 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. The freezing level in the accident area was about 5,000 feet msl with the possibility of moderate to severe mixed icing conditions above that altitude. The presence of a light rain shower near the accident site and an upslope flow condition indicated that super cooled large water droplets were likely present in the area. Occasional moderate turbulence was likely in the area with severe turbulence possible near convective activity. A deputy sheriff patrolling near the accident site reported that at the time of the accident there was heavy rain and wind. Local accident area residents reported that they were experiencing strong winds and heavy rain with lightning and thunder at the time of the accident. Examination of the wreckage disclosed no evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's intentional flight into adverse weather conditions and his subsequent failure to maintain aircraft control.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/2/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1815 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | El Dorado |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 95667 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 383617N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1205100W |
| 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 | 1845 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MHR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 5500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Broken |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 9 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 180 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.84 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| 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) | 15302 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 2 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1905 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 28 2004 3:34PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Sacramento, CA |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6946P |
| NTSB Number | LAX02FA038 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-24-250 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 24-2081 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2800 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 20 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 4875 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Fix Signs, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | El Dorado Hills |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 95762 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Scott E. Mills |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| 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 | VGT |
| Departure City | N. Las Vegas |
| Departure State | NV |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | O61 |
| Destination City | El Dorado |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 10 2004 2:21PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |