Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Tacna, Arizona 85352
Friday, November 23, 2012 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On November 23, 2012, at an undetermined time, a Piper PA-28-160, N5076W, impacted desert terrain near Tacna, Arizona. The owner/pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot was fatally injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal flight departed Tucson International Airport (TUS), Tucson, Arizona, at 0957, with an unknown destination. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The pilot’s husband reported that he had received a voicemail from her. He stated that she appeared to be “acting paranoid” stating she was going to take the airplane flying to get away from “Them.” Fueling records at Atlantic Aviation-Tucson established that the airplane was last fueled on November 23, 2012, with the addition of 15.1 gallons of 100LL octane aviation fuel. At the pilot’s request, the service technician also added air to the nose wheel tire. Afterwords he watched as the pilot taxied out and then saw her take off using taxiway “D” and flew southbound. Air traffic controllers at TUS reported that at 0957 MST an unknown airplane departed using taxiway “D” without any coordination or communication with air traffic controllers. The airplane was not transmitting any transponder information. The airplane was tracked with radar until it neared Eloy, Arizona. On November 28, 2012, a US Customs and Border Protection agent was on patrol and found the airplane wreckage with one deceased female person within the wreckage. The accident site was located 28 miles south of highway 8, about 650 feet west of Papago Road, and located inside the restricted area R-2301W. The terrain was flat desert small trees and shrubs. Investigators responded to the accident site and documented the wreckage. The wreckage was recovered for further examination.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/23/2012
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event --
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Tacna
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85352
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 322017N
Event Location Longitude 1133949W
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 1155 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 290
Weather Observation Facility ID NYL
Elevation of weather observation facility 206
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 59
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 30
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.15
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report 11:55 AM 78.1 °F 28.9 °F 17% 30.14 in 10.0 mi
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) --
NTSB Notification Source FAA Regional 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 Dec 11 2012 11:08AM
User who most recently changed record coos
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5076W
NTSB Number WPR13FA058
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-28-160
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-85
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name ADM AERO LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City TUCSON
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85730-2345
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Denise J. McCracken
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City TUCSON
Operator State AZ
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 85730-2345
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 TUS
Departure City Tucson
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 957
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2012 10:58AM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --