- Date
- April 26, 2001, 16:10 local (22:10 UTC)
- Place
- Columbus, NM
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N6671VBellanca BL17-30
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 30, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20010426011099A
- Case key
- 52160
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The impact with terrain following an inadvertent stall/mush by the pilot during a go-around. A contributing factor was a dust devil.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot was preparing to land westbound on a road when a "dust devil" struck the airplane. As he applied full power to abort his landing, a gust of wind struck the airplane causing it to drift to the south of the road towards a set of power lines. He "pulled up" and tried to maneuver the airplane over the power lines,however, the airplane stalled and impacted the ditch on the north side of the road. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, right wing tip, nose landing gear, both left and right main landing gear and propeller.
Factual narrative
On April 26, 2001, at approximately 1610 mountain daylight time, a Bellanca BL17-30, N6671V, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain during an aborted landing on a county road, 12 miles west of Columbus, New Mexico. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan was filed for this personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight departed Deming Municipal Airport, Deming, New Mexico, at approximately 1555.
According to the pilot, he was preparing to land westbound on Carzelia Loop Road when a "dust devil" struck the airplane. As he applied full power to abort his landing, a gust of wind struck the airplane causing it to drift to the south of the road towards a set of power lines. He "pulled up" and tried to maneuver the airplane over the power lines, however, the airplane stalled and impacted the ditch on the north side of the road. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, right wing tip, nose landing gear, both left and right main landing gear and propeller. The winds at the time of the accident were light and variable at 4 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6671V
- Reported as
- Bellanca BL17-30
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30049
- Airframe hours
- 3,016
- Engine
- Continental IO-520K, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James A Johnson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 15, 2001 · 27.2 hours before
- Departed
- DMN · Deming, NM
- Destination
- Columbus, NM
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 25
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- February 25, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 71 total · 19 in this make and model · 43 as pilot in command · 29 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- KDMN, 28 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.