Low-Altitude Maneuvering · NTSB WPR14LA005
CESSNA 340A — Paulden, AZ
| Date | October 4, 2013 |
| Location | Paulden, AZ |
| Aircraft | CESSNA 340A |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Maneuvering-low-alt flying Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 57 |
| Pilot total time | 4,006 hrs · High time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 4 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Pilot - C
- Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Tower/antenna (incl guy wires)-Contributed to outcome
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - C
- Personnel issues-Psychological-Personality/attitude-Confidence/reliance on equip-Pilot - C
What happened
Witnesses located at a gun club reported observing the airplane make a high-speed, low pass from north to south over the club's buildings and then maneuver around for another low pass from east to west. During the second low pass, the airplane collided with a radio tower that was about 50 ft tall, and the right wing sheared off about 10 ft of the tower's top. The tower's base was triangular shaped, and each of its sides was about 2 ft long. One witness reported that the airplane remained in a straight-and-level attitude until impact with the tower. The airplane then rolled right to an almost inverted position and subsequently impacted trees and terrain about 700 ft southwest of the initial impact point. One witness reported that, about 3 to 4 years before the accident, the pilot, who was a client of the gun club, had "buzzed" over the club and had been told to never do so again. A postaccident examination of the engines and the airframe revealed no evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation.