Piper PA-32-300 accident near Flagstaff, Arizona, November 18, 1994
On November 18, 1994 at about 5:58 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N4108R, was destroyed in an accident near Flagstaff, Arizona (Flagstaff Pulliam airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were 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 conditions, his misjudged evaluation of the weather, and his inexperience in actual instrument flying.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 18, 1994 · about 5:58 pm local time
- Place
- Flagstaff, Arizona · Flagstaff Pulliam · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N4108R · no longer on the register · serial 32-40427
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING THE PILOT'S PREFLIGHT WEATHER BRIEFING HE WAS TOLD THAT ICING CONDITIONS WERE FORECAST NEAR HIS ROUTE OF FLIGHT BELOW 16,000 FT, AND HIS ROUTE MAY INVOLVE FLYING BETWEEN TWO FRONTS. THE PILOT FILED FOR AND RECEIVED AN INSTRUMENT CLEARANCE TO FLY AT THE MEA OF 11,000 FT. THE PILOT WAS TOLD THAT SEVERAL INBOUND AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERED ICING CONDITIONS AT 9,000 FT. THE PILOT TOOK OFF AND, 34 MINUTES LATER, REPORTED HE WAS PICKING UP ICE AND HIS PITOT/STATIC SYSTEM WAS ICED OVER. UNABLE TO CLIMB TO THE MEA, THE PILOT RECEIVED AN APPROACH CLEARANCE FOR A NEARBY AIRPORT. WHILE CRUISING BETWEEN 9,200 & 9,700 FT IN AN AREA WHERE THE MEA WAS 11,000 FT, THE PILOT SAID HE WAS STILL TRYING TO CLIMB AND WAS PICKING UP QUITE A LITTLE BIT OF ICING AND GOT AN OPAQUE WINDSHIELD. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE WAS 17.9 MILES OUT FROM THE AIRPORT. IN JULY 1995, THE ACFT WAS LOCATED 14.5 MILES AND 353 DEG FROM THE ARPT. THE LOCATION WAS NOT ON ANY FEDERAL AIRWAY OR ROUTE STRUCTURE ASSOCIATED WITH THE INSTRUMENT APPROACH PROCEDURE. THE PILOT WAS ISSUED AN INSTRUMENT RATING 3 WEEKS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 980 hours in all; 820 in this make and model; 75 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 890 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,263 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 2, 1994
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: GCN Grand Canyon AZ at 4:58 pm
- Destination: FLG AZ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 21, 6,999 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 17 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility: 1.8 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 600 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:59 pm from FLG, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.