Piper PA-31-350 accident near North Las Vegas, Nevada, May 20, 1987
On May 20, 1987 at about 10:55 am local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N22LV, was destroyed in an accident near North Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- May 20, 1987 · about 10:55 am local time
- Place
- North Las Vegas, Nevada
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N22LV · no longer on the register · serial 31-7752066
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A MECHANIC, WHO WAS NOT RATED AS A PLT, TOOK THE ACFT WITHOUT PERMISSION & ELECTED TO TAKEOFF AT NGT. A WITNESS SAW THE ACFT DEP AT ABOUT 0250 PDT. SUBSEQUENTLY, IT CRASHED APRX 3 MI ENE OF THE ARPT IN AN OPEN UNDEVELOPED AREA. THE TIME OF THE ACDNT WAS NOT DETERMINED, BUT A CLOCK IN THE WRECKAGE HAD STOPPED AT 0355. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THE ACFT HAD IMPACTED IN A NOSE DOWN, INVERTED ATTITUDE WHILE ON A NNE HDG. THE ACFT MOVED ONLY 28' AFTER IMPACT & CAME TO REST INVERTED WITH THE GEAR EXTENDED & THE FLAPS RETRACTED. NO PREIMPACT MECHANICAL PROBLEM WAS FND. TOXICOLOGY TESTS SHOWED THE PLT HAD A BLOOD/ALCOHOL LVL OF 0.37% & A VITREOUS/ALCOHOL LVL OF 0.33%. NO RECORD WAS FND TO INDC THAT HE HAD ENGAGED IN ANY PREVIOUS FORMAL FLT TRAINING. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THE PLT HAD BEEN UNDER RECENT STRESS. A FRIEND RPRTD THE PLT & HIS WIFE WERE 'BREAKING UP.' THE PLT'S WIFE RPRTD HE HAD A DRINKING PROBLEM' WHICH WAS THE REASON FOR THEIR SEPN.
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
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,672 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, May 12, 1987; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,500 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming L/TIO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: VGT North Las Vegas NV
- Destination: Unkown
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 150° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:45 am from LAS, 9 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.
Other NTSB records under N22LV the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.