- Date
- October 2, 1989, 13:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Sedona, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N617CCCessna 501
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 18, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891002038759A
- Case key
- 26663
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
Improper in-flight planning/decision by the pilot which resulted in his inability to flare the aircraft and/or recover from a bounced landing. Contributing factors were: crosswind, gusts, turbulence, downdraft, and the pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions.
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
Drg arrival, the plt contacted Sedona UNICOM & was advised that rwy 21 was in use & that the winds were gusting to 25 KTS. He rprtd that turbulence was strong thru-out the traffic pattern. Full flaps were lowered on final apch. A strong downdraft was encountered on final apch & power was increased 'to maintain VASI and vref.' Turbulence & a downdraft were rprtd to be exceptionally strong over the threshold. The plt stated the acft touched down on all 3 gear, then it pitched up & began to porpoise with increasing amplitude. On the 2nd touchdown, power was applied, but the eng needed 5 to 7 sec to spool up. The plt said that after the acft porpoise 3 times, it was in a stall from which it would not recover. Subsequently, it went off the right side of the rwy, crossed a parallel taxiway & entered a wooded area before stopping. No mechanical problem of the acft was rprtd that would have resulted in the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N617CC
- Reported as
- Cessna 501
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 617
- Engine
- P&W JT15D-1A, 2,250 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- O'Conner, Harry
- Registered owner
- Harry W O'Conner
- Departed
- SDL · Scottsdale, AZ
- Airport
- SEZ · Sedona, runway 21, 5,135 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 68
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 13,460 total · 50 in this make and model · 122 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 25 knots, gusting 33
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °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.