- Date
- May 17, 1988, 21:07 local (May 18, 1988, 04:07 UTC)
- Place
- Grand Canyon, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4845DCessna 182A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 1, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880517014709A
- Case key
- 25832
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
Pilots selection of an inappropriate cruise altitude which did not ensure adequte terrain clearance on the leg of the flight from page to Grand Canyon, Arizona. A factor in the accident was the pilot's flight schedule on the day of the accident which may have produced a fatigue conditon.
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 trip itinerary began at 0530 hrs on the morning of the accident with several stops planned at various airports in Arizona and new Mexico, with a long stopover at page. In the evening the pilot got a wx briefing and filed a flight plan for the return leg from page to tucson. The pilot gave his route of flight as V293 at an altitude of 8,500 ft MSL. The aircraft struck trees on the north rim of the Grand Canyon at an altitude of 8,540 ft MSL. The accident site is about 2 degrees from the center line of V293. A witness heard the aircraft approach the accident site and reported strong engine sounds until impact. The witness saw the aircraft strobe and navigation lights approach the accident site in level flight then disappear into the trees; an explosion and fireball were seen immediately thereafter. The night was clear and dark with no moon. The VFR sectional lists 9,200 ft MSL as the minimum sector altitude for the accident area.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4845D
- Reported as
- Cessna 182A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 34945
- Engine
- Continental O-470R, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Charles F. Arnold, Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 3, 1988
- Departed
- PGA · Page, AZ
- Destination
- Y0E · Tucson, AZ
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 62
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 5,500 total · 3,400 in this make and model · 5,300 as pilot in command · 65 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 190° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.