- Date
- June 29, 1996, 12:09 local (19:09 UTC)
- Place
- Grand Canyon, AZ
- Injuries
- 10 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N13GMCessna 402A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 16, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960629015429A
- Case key
- 29488
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
Failure of the pilot to properly judge his altitude during final approach resulting in an undershoot. A factor was a downdraft weather condition.
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 encountered unforecasted winds on final approach and touched down short of the runway shearing one of the main landing gear. The other main landing gear collapsed during the landing roll. The airplane skidded 2,600 feet on the belly before coming to rest on the right side of the runway. The airport is located in mountainous terrain designated by the Airman's Information Manual. The Airman's Information Manual warns pilots that they may encounter abrupt changes in wind direction and wind velocity and that severe updrafts and downdrafts are common, particularly near or above abrupt changes of terrain such as cliffs or rugged areas.
Factual narrative
On June 29, 1996, at 1209 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 402A, N13GM, operating as Air Vegas Flight 11, landed short of runway 21 at the Grand Canyon Airport, Grand Canyon, Arizona, and sheared off the left main landing gear. The airplane was being operated as a sightseeing flight under 14 CFR Part 135 when the accident occurred. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The pilot and nine passengers were not injured. The flight originated from the Henderson Sky Harbor Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada, at 1100 hours. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time.
The pilot indicated the Grand Canyon Airport air traffic control tower changed the landing direction after he had planned to land on the opposite runway. According to the pilot, the tower reported the winds as calm. He indicated the airplane encountered heavy wind shear and winds and the airplanes sink rate was increasing while on short final approach. He added power, but the airplane landed hard.
The airplane touched down 32 feet short of the end of the runway. The airplane struck the asphalt edge of the approach end of the runway shearing the left main landing gear. After losing the left main landing gear, the right main landing gear collapsed. The airplane skidded 2,600 feet on the belly before coming to rest on the right side of the runway. The airplane was subsequently dragged from the runway by a fire truck in order to restore airport operations.
After the accident, the pilot noticed the windy conditions were evident from the airport windsock and various flags in front of airport buildings.
The Airman's Information Manual (AIM) is published to provide pilots with basic flight information affecting flight safety. The AIM contains a figure which designates the State of Arizona as a mountainous area. The AIM also lists several potential flight hazards, one of which is mountain flying. The AIM indicates abrupt changes in wind direction and velocity occur and severe updrafts and downdrafts are common, particularly near or above abrupt changes of terrain such as cliffs or rugged areas.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N13GM
- Reported as
- Cessna 402A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 402B-0246
- Airframe hours
- 4,794
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-E, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Avi, Inc., doing business as Air Vegas, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Adventure Airlines, L.L.C.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · June 20, 1996 · 16 hours before
- Departed
- L15 · Las Vegas, NV
- Destination
- GCN
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- GCN · Grand Canyon Natl Park, runway 21, 8,999 × 150 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
- 31
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,500 total · 700 in this make and model · 2,450 as pilot in command · 250 in the last 90 days · 85 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GCN
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N13GM · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.