# Accident 20180915013719A: Cessna A185F, Bullhead City, AZ, September 15, 2018

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 15, 2018, 12:45 local time
- Place: Bullhead City, AZ
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.1242° N, 114.5306° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.1242&lon=-114.5306&mi=10
- Aircraft: N573BV, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N573BV-2021-01-01) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna A185F (registry code 2072821, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-a185f) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental IO-520 series (registry code 17032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA A185F
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 2
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR18LA263](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR18LA263) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180915013719A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

AIRCRAFT IMPACTED TERRAIN SHORTLY AFTER DEPARTURE FROM IFP AIRPORT.

THE PILOT AND SINGLE PASSENGER SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES AND WERE TRANSPORTED TO A REGIONAL TRAUMA CENTER.

EXAMINATION OF THE CRASH SITE REVEALED THAT THE AIRCRAFT APPEARED TO HAVE IMPACTED TERRAIN IN A RELATIVELY LEVEL ATTITUDE.

ALL MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE AIRCRAFT WERE CONTAINED  WITHIN THE CRASH AREA.

FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS ESTABLISHED.

THE AIRCRAFT ENGINE APPEARED TO BE OPERATIONAL AT THE POINT OF IMPACT.

THE AIRCRAFT APPEARED TO HAVE SUFFICIENT FUEL AT THE TIME OF IMPACT.

DURING AN INTERVIEW ON 09/26/2018, THE PILOT STATED THAT HE HAD DEPARTED IFP AIRPORT WITH THE INTENTION OF FLYING TO THE PHOENIX AREA.

THE PILOT STATED THAT AFTER ROTATING, THE AIRCRAFT DID NOT APPEAR TO CLIMB AT A NORMAL RATE, THOUGH HE COULD NOT RECALL WHAT THE CLIMB RATE WAS.

THE PILOT STATED THAT HE HAD TURN TO FLY UP A DRYWASH AREA AND HAD BARELY CLEARED POWERLINES WHICH RAN ALONGSIDE A ROAD THAT CROSSED THE DRYWASH AREA.

THAT SHORTLY THEREAFTER, HE REALIZED THAT HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO CLIMB OVER LARGER POWERLINES WHICH WERE FARTHER UPHILL IN THE DRYWASH AREA, SO HE ATTEMPTED TO TURN AROUND AND IMPACTED THE TERRAIN DURING THE TURN.

THE PILOT STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS OPERATIONAL AND HE HAD NO IDEA AS TO WHY THE AIRCRAFT WOULD NOT CLIMB.

## 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 WPR18LA263](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR18LA263), Sep 15, 2018: Cessna A185 (N573BV), Bullhead City, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s diverted attention during takeoff initial climb, which resulted in a collision with rising 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.

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