# NTSB LAX06FA304: Cessna 182K, N2700Q, Sedona, AZ, September 24, 2006 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Field investigation · Final report - Date: September 24, 2006, 11:30 local (18:30 UTC) - Place: Sedona, AZ - Coordinates: 34.976943, -111.898612 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.9769&lon=-111.8986&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 2 fatal - Status: Completed, report May 13, 2010 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration, Cessna Aircraft Co., Continetal Motors - NTSB case key (mKey): 64652 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX06FA304 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/64652/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06FA304 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees and terrain while maneuvering in mountainous/hilly terrain in a high density altitude environment. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with terrain/water, maneuvering - clearance - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - terrain condition - mountainous/hilly - weather condition - high density altitude ## Analysis The flight departed from Phoenix, Arizona, on a personal cross-country flight to Sedona, Arizona. Radar data indicate that the flight remained between 8,400 feet mean sea level (msl) and 8,300 feet msl until it was about three miles north of exit 278 on Arizona Highway 17. At that time the airplane began to descend at a rate of about 500 feet per minute and, at the time of its last radar hit, was traveling at 5,200 feet msl at a point about nine miles southwest of the Sedona Airport. When the airplane did not reach its planned destination, concerned family members contacted the Federal Aviation Administration and a search was initiated, but the airplane was not located and positively identified for another 31 months. The wreckage was found at the very eastern end of a steep narrow canyon, at about 6,200 feet mean sea level, and about 10.5 miles northwest of the destination airport. Review of the accident site indicated that the airplane impacted mature conifer trees growing along the steep (60 degrees plus) walls of the canyon and then came to rest up against a rock wall. There was clear evidence of a postcrash fire. At the completion of the airframe, engine, and propeller inspections, no clear evidence was found to indicate there had been a malfunction or anomaly that would have contributed to a loss of engine power or a problem with controlling the airplane's flight path or attitude. Weather conditions at the time of the accident were clear skies with calm wind. The approximate density altitude at the accident site was calculated to be between 7,000 and 7,400 feet. ## Factual narrative HISTORY OF FLIGHT On September 24, 2006, at 1043 mountain standard time, a Cessna 182K, N2700Q, departed Deer Valley Airport (DVT), Phoenix, Arizona, en route to Sedona Airport (SEZ), Sedona, Arizona. The pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal cross-country flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed in the central Arizona area on the day of the flight, and no flight plan had been filed. When the airplane did not reach its planned destination, concerned family members contacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the airplane became the subject of an Alert Notice (ALNOT). A search was initiated, but the airplane was not located and positively identified for another 31 months. At that time, the wreckage, to include the partial remains of its occupants, was found in a steep narrow canyon about ten miles northwest of Sedona. Because the pilot elected not to request flight following services, he had not been assigned a discreet transponder beacon code, and therefore the airplane would have been expected to be transmitting an altitude encoding transponder code 1200. Recorded radar data was analyzed to find a code 1200 beacon departing Deer Valley Airport at the appropriate time and proceeding north along the anticipated flight track of an airplane en route from the Deer Valley area to the Sedona area. Such a 1200 code track was identified adjacent to the Deer Valley Airport at 1044:46. The target was first identified at a Mode C reported altitude of 2,300 feet mean sea level (msl), and it continued to climb to the north until it leveled off at an altitude of 8,400 feet msl, about eight miles east of Black Canyon City, Arizona. The target's Mode C reported altitude remained between 8,400 feet msl and 8,300 feet msl until 1111, when it was at a point about three miles north of exit 278 on Arizona Highway 17. At that time the target began to descend at a rate of about 500 feet per minute, and at the time of its last radar hit at 1118:00, it was at 5,200 feet msl, at a point about six miles northeast of Clarkdale, Arizona, and about nine miles southwest of the Sedona Airport. PERSONNEL INFORMATION A review of FAA airman records revealed that the 54 year old pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for single engine land and instrument airplane. The pilot's most recent third-class medical certificate was issued on December 02, 2005, with the limitation that he must wear corrective lenses and possess glasses for near and intermediate vision. The pilot's flight records were obtained from his family, and consisted of photocopies dated from November 2005, to the day of the accident. The summation of flight hours in the logbook revealed that the pilot had accumulated 450.9 hours total time, with a majority of that time amassed in the accident airplane. The logs additionally disclosed that he had flown two other trips from Deer Valley to Sedona within the past year. A majority of the flights recorded throughout the logs were conducted within a week of a previous flight. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The airplane, a Cessna 182K, serial number 18257900, was issued an FAA airworthiness certificate on February 25, 1967. It was registered to the current owner on March 08, 2006. A review of the airplane's logbooks revealed a total tachometer time of 2,196.3 hours at the oil change on August 26, 2006. The last annual inspection was annotated in the airplane's logbooks on February 25, 2006, at an airframe total of 7,079.51 hours. According to the records, the airplane had a Teledyne Continental Motors O-470-R engine, serial number 84728-3-R, installed. Total time on the engine at the last annual inspection was 2,045.57 hours, corresponding with 671.71 hours since the last major overhaul. Fueling records obtained from Atlantic Aviation indicate that the airplane took on 56.90 gallons of 100LL (100 low lead) aviation fuel at Deer Valley Airport at 0940 on the day of the accident flight. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION The 1056 hourly aviation routine weather report (METAR) recorded at Flagstaff, Arizona, which is located about 17 miles northeast of the accident site, indicated winds from 080 degrees at 14 knots, gusting to 18 knots, with 10 statute miles visibility. Sky conditions were clear, with a temperature of 13 degrees Celsius, and a dew point of minus 5 degrees Celsius. The altimeter was 30.37 inches of mercury. The 1156 METAR for Flagstaff, Arizona, indicated winds from 080 degrees at 9 knots, with no gusts. Sky conditions were clear, with a temperature of 13 degrees Celsius, and a dew point of minus 4 degrees Celsius. The altimeter was 30.36 inches of mercury. The 1053 METAR recorded at Prescott, Arizona, which is located about 37 miles southwest of the accident site, reported variable winds at 4 knots, with 10 statute miles visibility. Sky conditions were clear, with a temperature of 19 degrees Celsius, and a dew point of minus 4 degrees Celsius. The altimeter was 30.26 inches of mercury. The 1153 METAR recorded at Prescott, Arizona, indicated calm winds, a visibility of 10 statute miles, and clear sky conditions. The temperature was 19 degrees Celsius, with a dew point of minus 3 degrees Celsius. The altimeter was 30.24 inches of mercury. Three density altitude calculations were made, all of which were based upon a flight altitude of 6,200 feet msl. One calculation used a temperature of 13 degrees Celsius, one used a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius, and the third used a temperature of 17 degrees Celsius. The density altitude for each calculation was 7,002 feet, 7,229 feet, and 7,453 feet respectively. COMMUNICATIONS After his takeoff and initial departure, the pilot terminated his contact with the Deer Valley Airport Air Traffic Control Tower, and did not reestablish contact with any other FAA radio facility or service for the remaineder of the flight. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION The airplane wreckage was located in the Secret Canyon Wilderness Area, at the very eastern end of Loy Canyon, at about 6,200 feet msl, and about 10.5 miles northwest of Sedona Airport. It was approximately 300 to 400 yards east of the saddle (an area of lower terrain along a ridge) that connects the eastern end of the Loy Canyon drainage to the western end of the Secret Canyon drainage. On both sides of the saddle the terrain drops off rapidly to their respective drainages. The airplane impacted mature conifer trees growing along the steep (60 degrees plus) walls of the canyon, and then came to rest in a narrow drainage up against a rock wall. There was clear evidence of a post crash fire, and the airplane had been further damaged by trees that had fallen upon it, and some of its structure appeared to have been buried or carried away by the accumulation and movement of snow, mud, and rocks over the three winters it had been there. The remaining wreckage was recovered to the facilities of Air Transport, Inc., in Phoenix, Arizona, where it underwent an NTSB directed and FAA monitored teardown inspection. The main airframe wreckage consisted of small portions of the empennage, a four-foot section of the right wing, some skin and small portions of the left wing, the right entry door, parts of the left entry door, the baggage door, and the firewall area, which was still attached to the engine. Fragments of the elevator, the rudder, the right aileron, and the flaps were also recovered. Primary flight control cables were recovered, and cable continuity was established from the cockpit to the flight controls through overload separations and mechanical cuts resulting from recovery efforts. The flap and elevator trim actuators were not recovered. The nose landing gear and the left main landing gear, both of which had separated from the airframe, were recovered. The right main landing gear was not recovered. The pilot and front passeng ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2700Q](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2700Q-2015-05-20), registration cancelled 2015-05-20, S/N 18257900, built 1966 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 182K - Registry model: [Cessna 182K](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182k) (registry code 2072724) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18257900 - Airframe hours: 7080 - Engines: Continental O-470 230 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Westover Law Offices - Registered owner: Westover Law Offices - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, February 1, 2005 - Departed: DVT, Phoenix, AZ - Destination: SEZ, Sedona, AZ ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 54; injuries: fatal; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; flight hours: 451 total, 203 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 80° at 14 knots, gusting 18 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 55 °F, dew point 23 °F - Altimeter: 30.37 inHg - Observed at: FLG, 15 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20060924029949A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060924029949A), Sep 24, 2006: Cessna 182K, Sedona, AZ, No damage, 2 fatal. (-23) Aircraft and the pilot and one pax departed phoenix-deer valley (kdvt) for a short flight to the Sedona, AZ (ksez) airport for lunch. Aircraft never made… ## Other investigations on N2700Q (4) 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 LAX74DUG23](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX74DUG23), Oct 27, 1973: Cessna 182 (N2700Q), Perris, CA, substantial damage - [NTSB FTW71DRH01](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW71DRH01), Feb 15, 1971: Cessna 182 (N2700Q), Santa Rosalia, Mexico, substantial damage - [NTSB LAX71FUG19](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX71FUG19), Sep 25, 1970: Cessna 182 (N2700Q), La Verne, CA, substantial damage - [NTSB LAX69O0026](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX69O0026), Apr 7, 1968: Cessna 182 (N2700Q), San Felipe, Mexico, substantial damage 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. --- 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.