Piper PA-24-250 accident near Alturas, California, June 25, 2023
On June 25, 2023 at about 4:00 pm local time, a 1959 Piper PA-24-250, registered N6430P, was substantially damaged in an accident during initial climb near Alturas, California (Alturas Muni airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A loss of engine power due to the failure of the right magneto distributor gear and the pilot’s decision to conduct a test flight with known mechanical issues.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 25, 2023 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Alturas, California · Alturas Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-24-250, built 1959 · all PA-24-250s on the register
- Registration
- N6430P · registry record · serial 24-1540
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that, shortly after takeoff, the airplane’s engine began to run rough, so he returned to the airport, landed uneventfully, parked the airplane, and deplaned his passengers to conduct another preflight inspection. The pilot sampled the fuel, checked for loose spark plugs, and checked the magnetos. The pilot then decided to do an engine run-up and test flight before departing the area with the passengers. After takeoff, about 100 ft above ground level (agl), the engine began to shake violently, and he initiated a turn back to the airport. The engine lost total power, and the airplane landed hard and came to rest upright in the grass adjacent to the runway, resulting in substantial damage to fuselage, both wings, and the right horizontal stabilizer. Postaccident examination of the engine established mechanical and valvetrain continuity. When the propeller was rotated, the No. 5 ignition harness top lead did not spark. The right magneto was removed and functionally tested with an intermittent spark. The left magneto was also removed, and spark was obtained on all posts during the functional check. Further testing revealed that the intermittent spark from the right magneto could not be duplicated. Disassembly of right magneto revealed about 1/4 of the teeth were separated from the distributor gear, which would likely result in a partial loss of engine power and a rough running engine. No additional evidence of any preexisting mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation were observed with either magneto.
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
- Off-field or emergency landing during emergency descent
- Hard landing during landing
- Loss of engine power (total) during initial climb defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Ignition system › Magneto/distributor › Failure
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 390 hours in all; 168 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 318 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 22, 2021
- Medical certificate: BasicMed
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,724 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 16, 2022
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-A1C5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 2,506 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.13 inHg
- Observation at 8:55 am from KAAT
Weather report (METAR): KAAT 251555Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 13/09 A3013 RMK AO2 SLP179 T01280094
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number WPR23LA239.