- Date
- October 1, 2004, 21:30 local (Oct 2, 2004, 04:30 UTC)
- Place
- Nogales, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N4835FCessna TU206A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report December 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20041001024899A
- Case key
- 60276
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 pilot's failure to remain on the designated taxiway surface, which resulted in the airplane's collision with the ditch. The dark lighting condition was a factor to the accident.
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 airplane collided with a ditch during taxi and sustained substantial damage. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed. While taxiing to the terminal, the pilot taxied into a non-movement area of the airport, and did not see a 4-foot-deep ditch located in front of the terminal. The airplane impacted the ditch and the right wing collided with the ground, resulting in damage to a stringer. The ditch was approximately 45 feet from the taxiway.
Factual narrative
On October 1, 2004, at 2130 mountain standard time, a Cessna TU206A, N4835F, collided with a ditch during taxi following a landing on runway 03 at the Nogales International Airport, Nogales, Arizona. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The pilot, also the registered owner, was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, and no flight plan had been filed. The airplane departed from the Deer Valley Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, for the cross-country personal flight.
According to the pilot, he landed on runway 03. While taxiing to the terminal, the pilot did not see a 4-foot-deep ditch located in front of the terminal. The airplane impacted the ditch, and the right wing collided with the ground, resulting in damage to a stringer.
The airport manager responded to the airport following the accident. The taxiway is designed with a centerline stripe and outer reflectors. The ditch is on a non-movement part of the airport approximately 45 feet from the edge of the taxiway. The taxiway is paved. From the taxiway there is a 1-inch drop, and rock chips cover the ground for an additional 15 feet, followed by dirt for the next 24 feet leading up to the ditch.
The airport recently received a grant to reconstruct the taxiways, which will widen the taxiways and install taxiway lighting.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4835F
- Reported as
- Cessna TU206A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- U206-0535
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-C, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Clark Campbell
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- DVT · Phoenix, AZ
- Destination
- OLS · Nogales, AZ
- Airport
- OLS · Nogales International
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
- 55
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 1,989 total · 1,208 in this make and model · 3 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N4835F · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.