Piper Aircraft INC PA46R-350T accident near Tehachapi, California, February 14, 2021
On February 14, 2021, a 2010 Piper Aircraft INC PA46R-350T, registered N40TS, was destroyed in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Tehachapi, California. It was a personal flight 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 pilot’s encounter with mountain wave activity with severe turbulence, which resulted in a loss of airplane control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to obtain a preflight weather briefing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 14, 2021
- Place
- Tehachapi, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper Aircraft INC PA46R-350T, built 2010
- Registration
- N40TS · registry record · serial 4692156
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The non-instrument-rated pilot departed on a cross-country flight. Radar track data revealed the airplane traveled on a relatively straight course to the northeast for about 32 minutes. Near the end of the flight track data, the track showed an increasingly tight left spiraling turn near the accident site. The airplane impacted steep sloping terrain, and a postimpact fire ensued. As a result of the impact, the airplane was segmented into several sections. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunction or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The attitude indicator instrument was disassembled, and the vacuum-powered rotor and housing revealed rotational scoring damage, indicating the instrument vacuum system was operational at the time of the accident. The investigation found no evidence indicating the pilot checked the weather or received weather information before departure. The surrounding weather reporting stations near the accident site reported wind conditions with peak gusts up to 47 knots around the time of the accident. The pilot likely encountered mountain wave activity with severe turbulence, which resulted in loss of control of the airplane and impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to obtain a preflight weather briefing, which would have alerted him to the presence of hazardous strong winds and turbulent conditions. Postmortem toxicology testing of the pilot’s lung and muscle tissue samples detected several substances that are mentally and physically impairing individually and even more so in combination for performing hazardous and complex tasks. However, blood concentrations are needed to determine the level of impairment, and no blood samples for the pilot were available. While the pilot was taking potentially impairing medications and likely had conditions that would influence decision making and reduce performance, without blood concentrations, it was not possible to determine whether the potentially impairing combination of medications degraded his ability to safely operate the airplane.
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
What happened, in order
- Windshear or thunderstorm during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Turbulence encounter during enroute (cruise)
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Turbulence › Terrain induced turbulence › Effect on equipment
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Weather planning › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Altitude › Not attained/maintained
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,820 hours in all; 63 in the last 90 days
- Last flight review: April 26, 2017
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: frt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 877.7 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 20, 2020
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Ist Solutions INC
The flight
- Departed from: KCMA Camarillo CA at 11:55 pm
- Destination: KMMH Mammoth Lakes CA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 19 knots, gusting 26
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,200 ft
- Temperature: 41°F (5°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.92 inHg
- Observation at 4:15 pm from KTSP, 9 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KMHV weather observation at 1620 PST, automated, wind from 300° at 33 knots gusting to 47 knots, visibility 10 miles or more, sky clear below 12,000 ft agl, temperature 10° C, dew point temperature 0° C, altimeter 29.75 inHg. Remarks; automated station without a precipitation discriminator.
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
12 documents, released by the NTSB on April 19, 2023. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Photo Array-accident Site (Courtesy of Air Transport) | PDF, 6 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Meteorology Factual Report | PDF, 50 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation-piper | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation-lycoming | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | NTSB Wreckage Examination Summary | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 6 | NTSB Medical Factual Report | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 7 | Witness Statement-flight Instructor | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 8 | Maintenance Logbook-excerpts | PDF, 6 pages | View Download |
| 9 | Photo Array-google Earth Flight Track Data Images | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 10 | ADS-B Raw Data | PDF, 7 pages | View Download |
| 11 | Toxicology Report | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 12 | Wreckage Release Form | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N40TS 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.