- Date
- November 6, 1989, 16:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Safford, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N5624ACessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891106044669A
- Case key
- 26600
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 failed to maintain an airspeed above the aircraft's stall speed as he turned away from ascending terrain. The aircraft's inadequate performance resulting from improper grade of fuel and high density altitude and the pilot's lack of experience in high altitude operations were factors in 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 pilot and his passenger were conducting an aerial search for deer in mountainous terrain prior to beginning a hunt. The pilot did not file a flight plan. He took off from his home airport without incident and was not heard from again. The pilot's family reported the aircraft overdue and a search was initiated. The aircraft's emergency locator transmitter was received by search aircraft and the wreckage was found on the side of a mountain at an elevation of 9,000 feet. The wreckage was located in an upright attitude at the point of initial ground impact.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5624A
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28224
- Engine
- Continental O-300-B, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Kenneth C. Olson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- P10 · Chandler, AZ
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
- 38
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 235 total · 40 in this make and model · 196 as pilot in command · 102 in the last 90 days · 72 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.