- Date
- March 24, 1983, 09:20 local (16:20 UTC)
- Place
- Sedona, AZ
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3863UBeech A36TC
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830324069999A
- Case key
- 23441
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
During preflt briefings, the plt was briefed to expect deteriorating wx conditions with associated flt precautions for mountain obscurement, icing & moderate turbulence. The wx briefings were complete, except due to an inoperative circuit, the 0654 prescott & the 0530 to 0851 flagstaff observations were not transmitted. While enroute, the acft crashed into the eastern face of a mountain, apprx 9 minorthwest of the Sedona arpt at aprx 6000 ft MSL. The arpt manager at Sedona estimated a 500 ft overcast, visibility 5 mi with intermittent rain & snow showers. The Sedona arpt was 1300 ft below the accident site. According to an NTSB wx study, the cloud bases were at 5000 to 6000 ft MSL, cloud tops at 11,000 ft, higher cloud layers above, flt visibility 0 mi in clouds, moderate turbulence below 10,000 ft, snow & rain, freezing level 7000 ft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3863U
- Reported as
- Beech A36TC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- EA-219
- Airframe hours
- 175
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-UB, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Walter W. Taylor, Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 9, 1982 · 33 hours before
- Departed
- LHU · Lake Havasu, AZ
- Destination
- ABQ · Albuquerque, NM
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- SEZ · Sedona
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
- 48
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 135 total · 22 in this make and model · 83 as pilot in command · 91 in the last 90 days · 51 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 10 knots
- Temperature
- 45 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.