Piper PA-28-140 accident near Dighton, Kansas, March 18, 2000
On March 18, 2000 at about 2:15 am local time, a Piper PA-28-140, registered N4494X, was destroyed in an accident near Dighton, Kansas. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the inadvertent stall. Factors relating to this accident were the pilot's inadvertent flight into known adverse weather conditions, the icing conditions, and improper in-flight planning by the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 18, 2000 · about 2:15 am local time
- Place
- Dighton, Kansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-140 · all PA-28-140s on the register
- Registration
- N4494X · no longer on the register · serial 28-7625044
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot contacted his wife an hour before taking off from Denver, Colorado, en route to Wichita, Kansas. He told her that he would be in Wichita in 4 hours. The airplane departed at 1700 mst on a VFR flight plan. An instrument flight plan was filed by the pilot, in flight, with Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). The airplane was handed off to the Kansas City ARTCC. No radio contact was established between the airplane and Kansas City ARTCC. At 2015 cst, Denver ARTCC's last reported radar contact with the airplane was at 4,500 feet msl, 7 miles north, and 5 miles west of the Dighton, Kansas Airport. At 2032 cst, Denver ARTCC contacted the Lane County, Kansas, Sheriff's Office, requesting assistance 'in locating a plane that disappeared from radar.' They were informed that they (Denver ARTCC) heard someone say, 'We're going down.' At 2058 cst, the airplane was located by Lane County Sheriff's deputies. Near the time of the accident, weather reporting stations within 60 miles of the accident site were reporting overcast ceiling, visibility from 1/2 to 3 miles with light rain, and temperatures and dew points at 32 degrees F. An examination of the wreckage revealed no anomalies.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 212 hours in all; 110 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,655 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 14, 1999
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E3D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: FTG Denver CO
- Destination: ICT Wichita KS
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 120° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 100 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:31 am from GCK, 43 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.