ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 13616
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| Date: | Sunday 19 September 1976 |
| Time: | 00:10 LT |
| Type: |  Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain |
| Owner/operator: | Unknown (illegal flight) |
| Registration: | N54294 |
| MSN: | 31-7405231 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1974 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Pinon, Otero County, New Mexico -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Illegal Flight |
| Departure airport: | Mexico? |
| Pinon, Otero County, New Mexico | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off 19 September 1976: crashed and destroyed by fire when impacted ground near Pinon, Otero County, New Mexico, at approximate Coordinates: 32°37′05″N 105°23′40″W. (CFIT - Controlled Flight Into Terrain). Aircraft was probably being used on an illegal flight (drug smuggling): there was evidence of a large amount of marijuana found in wreckage. The aircraft appears to have no registered legal owner. In addition, no flight plan was filed, and the aircraft had neither a departure point nor a stated destination.
The pilot misjudged his altitude and distance whilst flying near high obstructions during flight at low altitude. Aircraft hit trees on second low pass, both persons on board killed
Registration N54294 belatedly cancelled by the FAA on May 10, 2013 - 37 years later - as "expired"
Accident investigation:
|
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: DEN76AD072: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=55158&key=0
2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=54294
3. https://flightaware.com/resources/registration/N54294
4. http://baaa-acro.maleo.net/1976/archives/crash-of-a-piper-pa-31-cheyenne-in-new-mexico-2-killed/
5. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/new-mexico/85129-aircraft-crash-locations-new-mexico.html
6. http://planecrashmap.com/plane/nm/N54294/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Feb-2008 12:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Apr-2015 01:19 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 07-Sep-2017 19:38 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 18-Sep-2017 15:39 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 29-Oct-2019 16:34 | Uli Elch | Updated [Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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