Low-Altitude Maneuvering · NTSB WPR14FA303
CESSNA 182L — Sedona, AZ
| Date | July 20, 2014 |
| Location | Sedona, AZ |
| Aircraft | CESSNA 182L |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Maneuvering-low-alt flying Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 22 |
| Pilot total time | 170 hrs · Low time |
| Time in type | 40 hrs |
| Fatalities | 4 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
- Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Temp/humidity/pressure-High density altitude-Effect on equipment - C
- Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Mountainous/hilly terrain-Contributed to outcome
What happened
The private pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. A witness reported observing the airplane flying into a canyon from above the tree line near the top of the canyon. Another witness, who did not see the airplane, reported hearing the airplane's engine accelerate, become quiet, and accelerate again, which was followed shortly thereafter by an explosion. The airplane impacted terrain at the bottom of a canyon and was destroyed. A postcrash examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies what would have precluded normal operation.
It is likely the pilot failed to maintain adequate airspeed and exceeded the airplane's critical angle-of-attack while entering the canyon, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall from which there was insufficient altitude to recover. In addition, the calculated density altitude of 9,675 ft would have adversely affected the airplane's performance.