Piper PA-32R-301T accident near Santa Barbara, California, November 11, 2004
On November 11, 2004 at about 6:01 am local time, a Piper PA-32R-301T, registered N803ZG, was destroyed in an accident near Santa Barbara, California (Santa Barbara Municipal airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to select and maintain an adequate terrain avoidance cruise altitude. Contributing factors were the dark nighttime conditions, the rising mountainous terrain, and the Federal Aviation Administration controller's failure to issue a terrain-related safety alert.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 11, 2004 · about 6:01 am local time
- Place
- Santa Barbara, California · Santa Barbara Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-301T · all PA-32R-301Ts on the register
- Registration
- N803ZG · no longer on the register · serial 3257357
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane collided with upsloping high mountainous terrain during level controlled cruise flight on a night cross-country. Prior to takeoff, the pilot informed the air traffic controller (ATC) that he had received the airport's weather. A broken sky condition existed with layers about 5,500 and 7,000 feet mean sea level (msl). When the pilot subsequently climbed from 4,900 to 5,200 feet and requested information from ATC about the elevation of the clouds, he acknowledged that he "seems to be in a little bit of clouds...sort of in and out." The pilot continued climbing into clearer conditions. The flight continued and the airplane tracked near the centerline of Victor Airway 183, which had a published course of 195 degrees. The pilot was familiar with the roundtrip route between his Santa Barbara home-base airport and Bakersfield, and he had previously flown over the route. During the last few minutes of the radar-recorded flight, the pilot was generally cruising about 6,500 feet, as indicated by the mode C altitude reporting transponder. The pilot was receiving radar flight following service from a controller at the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center. The controller observed the airplane and was aware that the minimum enroute altitude (MEA) for airplanes on instrument clearances along the airway was 9,000 feet. The controller and the pilot had sectional aeronautical charts available for use that depicted a 6,840-foot msl mountain peak along the flight route. The pilot's course did not vary as he approached and impacted the mountain during the dark nighttime flight. The bearing between the initial point of impact (IPI) and the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport was 197 degrees. Also, the bearing and distance between the IPI and the main wreckage was 198 degrees and 0.25 miles. The controller did not issue a terrain-related safety alert, as required by a Federal Aviation Administration order.
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: 322 hours in all; 19 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 205 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: August 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: unk
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-AH1A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: BFL Bakersfield CA at 5:37 am
- Destination: SBA Santa Barbara CA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 am from SBA, 19 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.