History of Flight
On November 9, 2008, at about 1125 Pacific standard time, a Piper PA-32S-300, registration N312AG, struck a mountainside in the San Bernardino Mountain range near Forest Falls, California. The pilot, who owned the aircraft, was conducting a personal cross-country flight under Part 91. The airplane departed San Felipe International Airport in Baja, Mexico, around 0700, with an intended destination of Hesperia Airport in Hesperia, California. No flight plan was filed. The pilot and three passengers were killed; the airplane was destroyed.
Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for most of the flight. The pilot was in contact with Los Angeles Center and received two discrete transponder codes. At 1051, the pilot entered code 0205 near Coachella, California. At 1118, over the San Bernardino Mountains, the pilot changed to code 4767. About seven minutes later, the last Mode C radar return recorded the aircraft at 12,500 feet near the accident location. No distress calls were made.
Family members reported the aircraft overdue to the FAA, which issued an Alert Notification. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Aviation Division initiated a search but suspended it due to a storm front passing through the mountains. The following morning, the search resumed and the wreckage was located around 1230. Deputies found the debris about one-quarter mile west of San Gorgonio Peak, having struck a rock outcropping on the northwest face about 150 feet below the peak of an 11,000-foot mountain. The area was covered in snow, ice, and rock. Pilots involved noted high wind conditions during both search days.
Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 74, held a private pilot certificate with single-engine land and instrument airplane ratings. He held a third-class medical certificate issued June 30, 2008, requiring corrective lenses for near and distant vision. No personal flight records were found. The NTSB obtained aeronautical experience from FAA medical records: the pilot reported 7,303 total flight hours with 98 hours in the previous six months. On his medical application, he listed medications including lisinopril, gemfibrozil, levothyroxine, and warfarin, and affirmative responses to heart or vascular trouble, high blood pressure, kidney stone, hospital admission, and other illness. Explanations noted atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure, and bladder tumor removal. FAA records indicated a history of color vision deficiency and several medications. A 2004 nuclear myocardial perfusion scan suggested a possible previous heart attack, but a subsequent echocardiogram showed no abnormalities, and the pilot was asymptomatic. On September 19, 2008, he received an Authorization for Special Issuance of a Medical Certification for his history of atrial fibrillation, hypothyroidism, hypertension, and medication use.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was a Piper PA-32S-300, serial number 32S7240096. No aircraft logbooks were found. Information from AA Aircraft Maintenance indicated the last annual inspection was performed on August 1, 2008; no aircraft or engine times were noted. A receipt from First Flight Corporation dated September 25, 2008, showed a total airframe time of 3,610.4 hours. The engine was a Textron Lycoming IO-540-K1A5, serial number RL-11259-48.
Meteorological Information
A Safety Board meteorologist prepared a factual report. The closest official weather station was March Air Reserve Base, Riverside, California, 24 nautical miles southwest. At 1055, a METAR reported wind from 260 degrees at 13 knots gusting to 20 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, scattered clouds at 13,000 feet, temperature 17°C, dew point 3°C, altimeter 29.75 inHg. At 1133, a special report indicated wind from 310 degrees at 11 knots, visibility 10 miles, ceiling 8,500 feet broken, temperature 16°C, dew point 1°C, altimeter 29.74 inHg.
Upper air data showed the freezing level at 6,500 feet. Level II Doppler weather radar data for the Santa Ana Mountains, about 50 miles away, showed weak weather radar echo intensities with maximum tops above 15,000 feet. GOES-11 satellite imagery showed clouds in the accident area, with infrared-identified cloud tops near 13,700 to 15,600 feet.
AIRMET Tango Update 4, issued at 0834 and valid until 1300, identified moderate turbulence below 18,000 feet with sustained surface winds greater than 30 knots. AIRMET Zulu Update 2, issued at 0645 and valid until 1300, identified moderate ice between the freezing level and 24,000 feet, with the freezing level between 6,000 and 10,000 feet.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was located the following morning near the summit of Mount San Gorgonio on a 50- to 55-degree slope in a rock outcropping, about 150 feet from the ridgeline at an elevation of 10,850 feet. The accident site was approximately 35 miles southeast of Hesperia Airport. The coroner reported debris spread over an area about 100 yards in diameter. The largest components were the tail section and a landing gear strut with wheel. The engine was about 20 yards southwest of the main wreckage in a drainage area; one propeller blade remained attached at the hub assembly.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy of the pilot was completed on November 19, 2008. The cause of death was listed as massive blunt force trauma with body fragmentation, instantaneous. No organ tissue could be associated with the pilot. Toxicological testing was not performed by the FAA due to the lack of specimens.
Tests and Research
Radar data showed that at 1121:12, the aircraft was at a Mode C altitude of 13,600 feet msl. About a minute later, it was at 13,900 feet. At 1123:16, it reached a peak of 14,000 feet. Over the next two minutes, the aircraft descended to 13,700, then climbed to 13,800 feet. The last radar return at 1124:58 was at 12,500 feet.
Inspection of the airframe revealed fragmentation into small pieces. Flight control cables were broomstrawed; other components were bent with angular breaks. The tail section was the largest piece, with the horizontal stabilizer leading edge crushed aft and both outboard sections separated. The vertical stabilizer/rudder assembly was also crushed aft. The engine had fragmented but exhibited mechanical continuity. The engine manufacturer noted no evidence of lubrication deprivation or contamination. Connecting rods and crankshaft appeared normal; camshaft was intact. Combustion chambers showed no foreign object ingestion. Both magnetos had separated; functional testing was not possible due to damage. The two-bladed propeller remained attached to the crankshaft flange; one blade had separated, and the other exhibited leading edge nicks, gouges, and chordwise striations.