# Accident 20000515006759A: Cessna T337C, Alamogordo, NM, May 15, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 15, 2000, 12:33 local time - Place: Alamogordo, NM - Damage: Destroyed - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 32.8800° N, 105.9494° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.8800&lon=-105.9494&mi=10 - Aircraft: N2522S, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2522S-2000-11-17) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna T337C (registry code 2075714, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-t337c) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA T337C - Reported engine: CONT TSIO360* - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - Pilot flight hours: 8,800 total - NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN00GA089](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN00GA089) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000515006759A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) ON MAY 15, 2000, APPROXIMATELY 1235 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA SKYMASTER 337, N2522S, WAS DESTROYED FOLLOWING IMPACT WITH TERRAIN NEAR ALAMOGORDO, NM. THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING OPERATED BY COURTNEY AVIATION, FROM COLOMBIA, CA., UNDER CONTRACT TO THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE, UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE LOCAL FLIGHT WHICH ORIGINATED FROM ALAMOGORDO, NM., APPROXIMATELY 6 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED WITH THE FLIGHT SERVICE STATION. (.19) ON MAY 15, 2000, APPROXIMATELY 1235 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA SKYMASTER 337, N2522S, WAS DESTROYED FOLLOWING IMPACT WITH TERRAIN NEAR ALAMOGORDO, NEW MEXICO. THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING OPERATED BY COURTNEY AVIATION, FROM COLUMBIA, CALIFORNIA, UNDER CONTRACT TO THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE, UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE LOCAL FLIGHT WHICH ORIGINATED FROM ALAMOGORDO, NEW MEXICO, APPROXIMATELY 6 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED WITH THE FLIGHT SERVICE STATION. A WITNESS SAID THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS FLYING IN A NORTHEASTERLY DIRECTION, AND HE COULD NOT HEAR ANY ENGINE SOUNDS. HE SAID THE AIRPLANE ROTATED TO THE LEFT AND DISAPPEARED BEHIND THE MOUNTAIN. SECONDS LATER, HE SAW THE SMOKE RISING. (.4) HISTORY OF FLIGHT: ON MAY 15, 2000, AT 1233 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA SKYMASTER T337C, N2522S, WAS DESTROYED FOLLOWING IMPACT WITH TERRAIN NEAR ALAMOGORDO, NEW MEXICO. THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED. COURTNEY AVIATION (DBA SKYSTAR, INC.), OF COLUMBIA, CALIFORNIA, WAS OPERATING THE AIRPLANE UNDER CONTRACT TO THE UNITED STATESFOREST SERVICE (USFS) UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE LOCAL FLIGHT THAT ORIGINATED FROM ALAMOGORDO, APPROXIMATELY 4 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED WITH THE FAA FLIGHT SERVICE STATION, BUT THE USFS HAD THEIR OWN INTERNAL FLIGHT PLAN AND FLIGHT FOLLOWING PROCEDURES. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT'S EMPLOYER, THE PILOT FLEW THE AIRPLANE ON MAY 12 FROM CALIFORNIA TO ALAMORGORDO, NEWMEXICO, FOR A LONG-TERM CONTRACT WITH THE USFS. ACCORDING TO A USFS REPRESE NTATIVE, THE PILOT FLEW FOREST FIRE RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS ON MAY 13 (5.4 HOURS) AND MAY 14 (1.6 HOURS). ON MAY 15, THE PILOT WAS BRIEFED TO FLY A 2 HOUR FIRE WATCH MISSION OVER LINCOLN NATIONAL FOREST, JUST EAST OF ALAMOGORDO. THE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER WERE SCHEDULED TO DEPART BETWEEN 1100 AND 1130, BUT THEY WERE OBSERVED IN THE BREAK AREA TALKING WITH EACH OTHER AT 1155. WHEN USFS PERSONNEL REMINDED THEM OF THEIR DEPARTURE TIME, THEY IMMEDIATELY WENT TO THEIR AIRPLANE. RADAR DATA INDICATES A TARGET DEPARTED ON RUNWAY 21 AT 1229 AND MADE A LEFT HAND CLIMBING TURN TO THE NORTHEAST. RADAR DATA INDICATES THAT THE AVERAGE RATE OF CLIMB FOR THE 3 AND HALF-MINUTE FLIGHT WAS 519 FEET PER MINUTE. FROM 1230:52 TO 1231:29, THE RATE OF CLIMB WAS 804 FEET PER MINUTE; THE NEXT 47 SECONDS, THE RATE OF CLIMB DROPPED TO 384 FEET PER MINUTE. AT 1232:06, THE TARGET LEVELED OFF AT 6,100 FEET, AND SLOWED TO 97 KNOTS. THE RADAR DATA INDICATES THAT DURING THE LAST TWO MINUTES OF FLIGHT, THE TARGET FLEW DIRECTLY AT THE MOUNTAIN CLIFFS (USFS PILOTS REPORTED GOOD UP DRAFTS NEAR THESE CLIFFS DURING THE PREVIOUS SEVERAL DAYS). THE FAA PRINTS A PUBLICATION ON TIPS ON MOUNTAIN FLYING FOR THEIR GENERAL A VIATION ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROGRAM THAT STATES THE FOLLOWING: "A MOUNTAIN RIDGELINE SHOULD BE CROSSED AT AN ANGLE TO ALLOW THE PILOT TO TURN AWAY FROM THE RIDGE WITH THE LEAST AMOUNT OF TURN REQUIRED SHOULD DOWN AIR BE ENCOUNTERED." THE 4 RADAR RETURNS AT 6,100 FEET WERE FLOWN OVER A STEEPLY RISING VALLEY WITH A MINIMUM TERRAIN CLEARANCE OF 400 TO 500 FEET. THE RADAR DATA INDICATES THAT THE TARGET TURNED MORE EASTERLY, AND THE ALTITUDE WAS APPROXIMATELY 6,200 FEET WITH TERRAIN CLEARANCES AS LOW AS 200 FEET. THE TARGET WAS THEN TRACKED FLYING OVER THE EDGE OF A 1.000 FOOT CANYON TO THE SOUTH. NEXT THE TARGET TURNED NORTHWARD, AND DISAPPEARED NEAR THE POINT OF IMPACT. LATER FLIGHTS BY USFA AIRCRAFT, IN THIS GEOGRAPHICAL AREA, REPORTED "STRONG TURBULENCE AND VERY STRONG VARIABLE VERTICAL AIR MOVEMENTS." A WITNESS, LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 11,000 FEET AWAY, SAID THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS FLYING IN A NORTHEASTERLY DIRECTION AND "APPEARED TO BE FLYING VERY SLOW." HE COULD NOT HEAR ANY SOUND COMING FROM THE AIRPLANE. IT THEN TURNED NORTH FOLLOWED BY THE AIRPLANE'S WING "DROPPING DOWNWARD TOWARDS THE GROUND." HE SAID THE "AIRPLANE WENT STRAIGHT DOWN ROTATING TO THE LEFT, AND DISAPPEARED BEHIND THE MOUNTAIN." SECONDS LATER, HE HEARD THE IMPACT AND SAW SMOKE RISING FROM BEHIND THE RIDGE. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB DEN00GA089](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN00GA089), May 15, 2000: Cessna T337C (N2522S), Alamogordo, NM, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control, and the subsequent inadvertent stall/spin. Contributing factors were the loss of engine power on both engines for unknown reasons and the terrain… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.