Piper PA-38-112 accident near Tremonton, Utah, January 4, 1998
On January 4, 1998 at about 2:13 am local time, a Piper PA-38-112, registered N23371, was destroyed in an accident near Tremonton, Utah. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions, becoming spatially disoriented and his subsequent loss of aircraft control. Factors were the dark night and weather conditions that included obscuration and snow.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 4, 1998 · about 2:13 am local time
- Place
- Tremonton, Utah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-38-112 · all PA-38-112s on the register
- Registration
- N23371 · no longer on the register · serial 38-81A0090
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The noninstrument-rated private pilot, a foreign national, embarked on a solo cross-country flight to fulfill the experience requirements required for commercial pilot certification. FSS advised the pilot that VFR flight was not recommended. The pilot filed a VFR flight plan and departed Ogden, Utah. He arrived in Caldwell, Idaho, refueled, and obtained another FSS weather briefing. Again, he was advised that VFR flight was not recommended. He filed a VFR flight plan and departed Caldwell en route back to Ogden. Radar data indicated that the pilot did not track the airway to Malad City, Idaho, but instead followed a highway to the vicinity of Tremonton, Utah. There, it was seen to maneuver in a 'primary weather cell.' The wreckage was located 3 days later within 0.1 mile of the last radar contact.
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
- Flight time: 314 hours in all; 169 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 144 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,653 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 10, 1997; 39 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: U.S. Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: EUL Caldwell ID at 11:35 pm
- Destination: OGD Ogden UT
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 110° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 9,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:00 am from OGD, 51 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.