Piper PA-28-181 accident near Newhall, California, April 30, 1987
On April 30, 1987, a Piper PA-28-181, registered N8444A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Newhall, 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 30, 1987
- Place
- Newhall, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-181 · all PA-28-181s on the register
- Registration
- N8444A · no longer on the register · serial 28-8290023
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AT ABOUT 1440 PDT, THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PLT DEPD ANTIOCH CA, ON A FLT TO BURBANK, CA. NO KNOWN IN-FLT COMMUNICATIONSWERE MADE UNTIL THE PLT CONTACTED TRACON AT 1725 PDT. AT THAT TIME, HE RPRTD INBOUND AT 7500' & REQUESTED A SPECIAL VFR CLNC TO THE ARPT. HE WAS TOLD TO MAINT VFR & WAS ADZD THE WX AT BURBANK (ELEV 775') WAS 700' OVERCAST WITH 1 MI VIS, FOG & LGT DRIZZLE. SEVERAL MINUTES LATER, COMMUNICATION WITH THE ACFT WAS LOST. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT CRASHED ON A RIDGELINE APRX 9 MI NNW OF THE BURBANK ARPT. IMPACT OCCURRED IN A SHALLOW, WINGS LEVEL DESCENT AT AN ELEVATION OF ABOUT 2600'. NO PREIMPACT PART MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE WAS EVIDENT. NO RECORD WAS FOUND OF A PRE-FLT WX BRIEFING. MTNS TOPS IN THE AREA WERE FORECAST TO BE OBSCURED; CLOUD TOPS WERE RPRTD AT 4500'. TRACES OF MEDICATION (METABOLITES OF CHLORPHENIRAMINE & BENZODIAZIPINE) WERE DETECTED ONLY IN THE PLT'S URINE; TOXICOLOGY TESTS OF HIS BLOOD WERE NEGATIVEFOR ALCOHOL & DRUGS.
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: 910 hours in all; 910 in this make and model; 68 in the last 90 days; 29 in the last 30 days; 895 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,542 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 25, 1986; 195 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4M (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 012 Antioch CA at 9:40 pm
- Destination: BUR Burbank CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 4 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:46 pm from BUR, 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.