Piper PA-28-140 accident near Poway, California, August 27, 2000
On August 27, 2000 at about 4:14 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-140, registered N428FL, was destroyed in an accident near Poway, California. It was a personal 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 intentional flight into known adverse weather.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 27, 2000 · about 4:14 pm local time
- Place
- Poway, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-140 · all PA-28-140s on the register
- Registration
- N428FL · no longer on the register · serial 28-7125211
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The aircraft impacted a mountain ridge at 2,375 feet msl. A witness, who held a private pilot certificate, was hiking atop the mountain and heard the aircraft approach and impact the mountain about 200 to 300 yards from his position. The witness reported there was a solid stratus cloud layer in the valley below, with the cloud tops about 100 feet below the peak of the mountain [2,696 feet msl]. As he listened, the airplane approached from the south and passed nearby to the west. The aircraft was near but was not visible to the witness. The engine "was running healthy and normally at or near full power." Next he heard a "loud, muffled thud," there was an explosion, and then an orange fireball was visible from near the top of the clouds. Overcast cloud bases were at 1,000 feet msl at the nearest weather reporting point, 9 miles south. Recorded radar data for the last 1 minute 37 seconds of the flight, showed the aircraft, initially, westbound at 1,500 feet climbing to 1,800 feet, about 1 mile south of the accident site. The airplane then made a right turn to a northerly heading and, in the final minute, climbed from 1,800 feet to 2,400 feet. The last radar return was near the accident site with the aircraft at 2,400 feet. The pilot received an outlook weather briefing the evening before the accident that accurately forecast the weather conditions at the time of the accident. No mechanical anomalies were found with the aircraft.
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; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,120 hours in all; 411 in this make and model; 35 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,669 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 20, 2000
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: SEE El Cajon CA at 4:05 pm
- Destination: Unknown
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,300 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 154°F (68°C), dew point 145°F (63°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:56 pm from NKX, 11 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.