Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Mountain Home, Idaho 83647
Saturday, June 9, 2012 12:32 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The noninstrument rated pilot was on a visual flight rules cross-country flight, headed west over mountainous terrain. He had been en route about 3 hours and was about 60 nautical miles from his destination when the accident occurred. Radar data indicated that until a few minutes before the accident, the pilot maintained a direct course west toward the destination. During the last 2 minutes of the flight, the airplane turned left to an east heading then immediately turned right, back to a west/northwest heading. The last radar return showed the airplane at an altitude of 7,600 feet mean sea level (msl) about 0.27 mile from the accident site. The airplane impacted terrain at an elevation of about 7,400 feet in a right-wing-low attitude.
Weather radar showed rain/snow showers and satellite imagery showed abundant cloud cover over the accident site at the time of the accident. The cloud cover was moving from west to east and had tops about 22,000 to 23,000 feet msl. An AIRMET in the area of the accident reported mountain obscuration conditions, and the reported freezing level was about 7,500 feet. When rescue personnel arrived at the scene several hours later, they found 8 to 10 inches of snow on the ground. The airplane's flightpath and the weather data are consistent with the flight encountering snow showers and possibly reduced visibility in the vicinity of the accident site. The airplane's flight track suggests that the pilot initially turned back when he encountered the deteriorating weather but decided to proceed toward his destination when the collision with mountainous terrain occurred. Examination of the airplane's airframe and engine found no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Toxicological testing of specimens from the pilot detected medications that were unlikely to have posed a significant hazard to flight safety.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The noninstrument-rated pilot's continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into mountainous terrain.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/9/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1232 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Mountain Home |
| Event State | IDAHO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 83647 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 432528N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1152905W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1255 Mountain Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 217 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MUO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 2996 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 28 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2700 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 8 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 290 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 17 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 28 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.99 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 31878 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ANM Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 10 2013 1:11PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8990N |
| NTSB Number | WPR12FA255 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Unknown |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA-32-300 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32-40873 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3400 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 19 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 5855 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | STOLLER SCOTT S |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | CALDWELL |
| Aircraft Owner State | ID |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 83607-5501 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | STOLLER SCOTT S |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | CALDWELL |
| Operator State | ID |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 83607-5501 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | RKS |
| Departure City | Rock Springs |
| Departure State | WY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 945 |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | MAN |
| Destination City | Nampa |
| Destination State | ID |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 10 2013 1:11PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |