# Accident 20020516011379A: Socata TB21, Newriver, AZ, May 16, 2002 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 16, 2002, 21:54 local time - Place: Newriver, AZ - Damage: No damage - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 33.9611° N, 112.0128° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.9611&lon=-112.0128&mi=10 - Aircraft: N328CG, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N328CG-2002-10-21) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Socata TB21 (registry code 8680697, https://openairdocs.org/model/socata-tb21) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: SOCATA TB21 - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX02FA166](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02FA166) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020516011379A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) ON MAY 16, 2002, ABOUT 2154 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A SOCATA TB-21, N328CG, DESCENDED INTO MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN IN THE TONTO NATIONAL FOREST, ABOUT 7 NM NORTHEAST OF NEW RIVER, ARIZONA. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED. THE PILOT, WHO WAS DEMONSTRATING THE AIRPLANE TO THE PROSPECTIVE PURCHASER, POSSESSED A COMMERCIAL PILOT CERTIFICATE AND WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE PROSPECTIVE PURCHASER POSSESSED A STUDENT PILOT CERTIFICATE AND WAS ALSO FATALLY INJURED. THE SALES DEMONSTRATION FLIGHT WAS PERFORMED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED IN THE VICINITY OF THE PHOENIX DEER VALLEY AIRPORT, 17 NM SOUTH OF THE ACCIDENT SITE. AN AIRPLANE SALESMAN, WHO WAS EMPLOYED BY THE SAME COMPANY AS THE ACCIDENT PILOT, REPORTED TO THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD INVESTIGATOR THAT HE HAD SPOKEN WITH THE ACCIDENT PILOT AT 2114. AT THAT TIME, THE PILOT INDICATED TO HIM THAT HE HAD FINISHED DINNER AT THE SEDONA AIRPORT AND HE PLANNED TO IMMINENTLY DEPART AND FLY TO DEER VALLEY. ACCORDING TO THE PROSPECTIVE PURCHASER'S WIFE, SHE HAD SPOKEN WITH HER HUSBAND AND HE HAD INDICATED TO HER THAT HE ANTICIPATED RETURNING TO DEER VALLEY BY 2200 HOURS. NO WITNESSES REPORTED OBSERVING THE ACCIDENT. THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) INDICATED TO THE SAFETY BOARD INVESTIGATOR THAT A REVIEW OF RECORDS FROM FACILITIES ALONG THE ROUTE BETWEEN SEDONA AND DEER VALLEY DID NOT REVEAL ANY COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE ACCIDENT PILOT/AIRPLANE. A REVIEW OF FAA RECORDED RADAR WAS PERFORMED TO LOCATE AN AIRCRAFT TARGET THAT MANIFEST A FLIGHT PROFILE CONSISTENT WITH THAT OF THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE. DURING THE TIME INTERVAL BETWEEN 2114 AND 2200, ONLY ONE TARGET WAS FOUND. IN SUMMARY, THE TARGET WAS FIRST NOTED ABOUT 3.2 NM SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF SEDONA, AND IT WAS AT 6,700 FEET. THE TARGET PROCEEDED IN A SOUTHERLY DIRECTION AND CLIMBED TO 10,800 FEET. THE TARGET CONTINUED TRACKING ALONG A 180-DEGREE COURSE AND GRADUALLY DESCENDED. THE TARGET'S POSITION WAS LAST RECORDED AT 2153, ABOUT 0.25 NM NORTH OF THE ACCIDENT SITE. ITS LAST RECORDED ALTITUDE WAS 3,800 FEET, AND ITS COURSE CONTINUED IN A SOUTHERLY DIRECTION DIRECTLY TOWARD THE PHOENIX DEER VALLEY AIRPORT. THE SAFETY BOARD'S ON SCENE EXAMINATION OF THE ACCIDENT SITE REVEALED THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED UPSLOPING (ESTIMATED 3,850-FOOT MSL) TERRAIN AT THE FOLLOWING GLOBAL POSITIONING SATELLITE COORDINATES: 33DEGREES 57.67 MINUTES NORTH LATITUDE BY 112 DEGREES 00.78 MINUTES WEST LONGITUDE. WRECKAGE WAS OBSERVED FRAGMENTED OVER AN ESTIMATED 640-FOOT-LONG PATH IN A SOUTHERLY DIRECTION. GROUND SCAR RESEMBLING THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WRECKAGE DISTRIBUTION PATH, ALONG WITH FRAGMENTS FROM A NAVIGATION LIGHT LENS AND WING COMPONENTS. THE COCKPIT WAS LOCATED YARDS SOUTH OF THE INITIAL POINT OF IMPACT. THE ENGINE, DEVOID OF ITS AIRFRAME ATTACHMENT MOUNTS, WAS FOUND NEAR THE SOUTH END OF THE WRECKAGE DISTRIBUTION PATH AT THE FOLLOWING GPS COORDINATES: 33 DEGREES 57.56 MINUTES NORTH LATITUDE BY 112 DEGREES 00.79 MINUTES WEST LONGITUDE.(-23) ON A NIGHT FLIGHT FROM SEDONA, AX TO THE DEER VALLEY AIRPORT, PHOENIX, AZ, RADAR INFORMATION INDICATES THAT THE AIRCRAFT MADE A NORMAL DESCENT STRIKING A REMOTE UNLIGHTED MESA APPROXIMATELY 14 MILES NORTH OF THE DEER VALLEY AIRPORT. AT THIS TIME, NO CAUSAL FACTORS AREA KNOWN. ## 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 LAX02FA166](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02FA166), May 17, 2002: Socata TB-21 (N328CG), New River, AZ, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate terrain clearance altitude during a cruise descent that resulted in controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). Factors in the accident were the rising… 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.