- Date
- May 13, 1993, 13:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Durango, CO
- Injuries
- 2 serious, 2 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N773JBCessna 182N
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 3, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930513013439A
- Case key
- 18287
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
An inadvertent stall. A factor was: downdrafts and the pilot's continued flight into known adverse weather.
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 observed scattered clouds, virga, rain and lightning approaching when he was 10 miles south of the airport, and UNICOM advised the wind was from the north at 20 knots. The airplane entered precipitation and encountered a downdraft, but the pilot recovered by applying moderate engine power and remaining high and fast. The pilot reported that as he continued his approach to runway 1, the airplane entered a vertical wind shear and lost several hundred feet. The pilot said the airplane was below the airport elevation (the airport sits atop a mesa), and he added full power and pulled the nose up. The airplane cleared boulders and trees at the edge of the mesa, then the stall warning sounded. Two passengers and a witness said the airplane stalled. The airplane struck the runway and slid 30 feet before coming to a halt.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N773JB
- Reported as
- Cessna 182N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18260610
- Airframe hours
- 6,289
- Engine
- Continental O-470-R, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Gregg Flying Service, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Gregg Flying Service, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 18, 1992 · 78 hours before
- Departed
- ABQ · Albuquerque, NM
- Destination
- 5CO0
- Airport
- 5CO0 · Animas Air Park, runway 1, 5,000 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 331 total · 144 in this make and model · 331 as pilot in command · 55 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 20 knots, gusting 40
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 61 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.