Piper PA-34-200T accident near Myton, Utah, November 7, 1997
On November 7, 1997 at about 2:04 am local time, a Piper PA-34-200T, registered N2119D, was destroyed in an accident near Myton, Utah. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot exceeded the design stress limits of the airplane which resulted in an in-flight airframe overload failure. A related factor was the dark night.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 7, 1997 · about 2:04 am local time
- Place
- Myton, Utah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-34-200T · all PA-34-200Ts on the register
- Registration
- N2119D · no longer on the register · serial 34-7970026
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was on a return flight via the same route when the accident occurred. Recorded radar data revealed two transponder-equipped airplanes. The first target, the accident airplane, was tracked between 1902:51 and 1904:07, flying in a southeast-to-northwest direction at an encoded altitude of 12,600 feet mean sea level (msl). The second airplane, an unidentified aircraft squawking a transponder code of 1200, was tracked between 1907:00 and 1912:07, flying in a northwest-to-southeast direction at an encoded altitude of 13,600 feet msl. The unidentified airplane was estimated to have been 14 miles from the accident airplane at the time of the accident. At 1904, the accident airplane disappeared from the radarscope. No distress calls were received. Between 1906 and 1926, the controller tried to reestablish radio contact with the pilot, but to no avail. Search and rescue operations were initiated, and the wreckage was located the following afternoon. According to the metallurgist's factual report, the left wing, right horizontal stabilator, and vertical stabilizer spar fractures were 'consistent with overstress separations' and failed under 'negative loading.' There was no evidence of 'preexisting cracking such as fatigue or stress corrosion.' Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,584 hours in all; 1,500 as pilot in command; 393 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,472 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 31, 1997; 22 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,570 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-360-EB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GJT Grand Junction CO at 1:29 am
- Destination: SLC Salt Lake City UT
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 220° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:50 am from SLC, 126 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.