- Date
- November 1, 1991, 20:22 local (Nov 2, 1991, 03:22 UTC)
- Place
- Bullhead City, AZ
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N1734MCessna 337F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report May 5, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911101048799A
- Case key
- 27389
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 pilots failure to maintain a proper descent rate and to adequately judge the above ground altitude of the aircraft during the approach. Factors in the accident were: 1) the dark night conditions, 2) the pilot's degraded visual perceptive ability, and 3) the failure of the FAA to disseminate the airport elevation change information in a timely manner.
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 an apch to a new rwy (34) at ngt, the acft dscndd into trrn abt 4000' short of the rwy. The old rwy (17/35) had recently been closed. The new rwy (16/34) was aprx 1400' east of the old rwy & abt 145' higher. The arpt operator had notified the FAA of the elev chg. The FAA NOTAM issued for the new rwy did not include the alt chg due to proc policy. The plt had lndd at the arpt svrl times, but this was to be his 1st lndg on the new rwy. The plt's logbook showed a total of 118 hrs of ngt time, but the last recorded ngt flt was 12 yrs bfr the acdnt. Two plts awaiting takeoff saw the apch & indcd the acft appeared low on dwnwnd & base leg. The plt's psn callouts sounded nml. The plt was on medication (med) for diabetes & hi blood pres, which was prescribed by his regular physician. None of the prescribed medications was detected in the plt's blood. An FAA rgnl flt surgeon stated that if the plt discontinued his medication, it could have caused hypertension and/or hyperglycemia, with a corresponding degredation in his ngt visual perceptive ability.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1734M
- Reported as
- Cessna 337F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 33701334
- Airframe hours
- 3,264
- Engine
- Continental IO-360-C, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Jerome Marcus
- Registered owner
- Jerome Marcus Trustee
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 11, 1991 · 35 hours before
- Departed
- PSP · Palm Springs, CA
- Destination
- P06 · Bullhead City, AZ
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- P06 · Laughlin Bullhead, runway 34, 7,500 × 100 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
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,792 total · 536 in this make and model · 1,701 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 360° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- P06, 1 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.