- Date
- June 27, 2022, 14:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Moab, UT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N17GKGMK Ventures AL18
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20220627011389A
- Case key
- 105370
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’s failure to maintain directional control during a landing attempt, which resulted in a ground loop and collision with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the absence of an airspeed indicator due to an alternator failure.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that, he experienced an alternator failure approximately 47 minutes from his destination airport. He switched to a backup battery, but within 2 minutes the entire electrical system shut down, which included a loss of his airspeed and altitude indicators. When he reached the airport, he intentionally flew fast to provide a buffer against stalling the airplane as he was in high density altitude conditions. While over the runway at about 5 ft above ground level, he overflew the runway at the same altitude to bleed off excess airspeed. As the airplane decelerated the pilot was unable to determine when the airplane would touchdown due to the loss of his airspeed indicator. According to the pilot, the right main landing gear touched down first followed by the left main landing gear, at which point the airplane began to ground loop. The left elevator impacted a runway light, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. The pilot report no other preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N17GK
- Reported as
- GMK Ventures AL18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AL-331
- Built
- 2020
- Airframe hours
- 310
- Engine
- Continental IOX370CLE1T8, 195 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Gmk Ventures LLC
- Registered owner
- Gmk Ventures LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 22, 2021 · 29.2 hours before
- Departed
- TWF · Twin Falls, ID
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- CNY · Canyonlands Rgnl, runway 03, 7,361 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, Onboard weather, ADS-B, Angle of attack indicator, Auto-pilot
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
- 66
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- BasicMed
- Last flight review
- February 10, 2022
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 603 total · 330 in this make and model · 532 as pilot in command · 43 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.24 inHg
- Observed at
- KCNY, 1 nm away
- METAR
- KCNY 271953Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 29/08 A3024 RMK AO2 SLP181 T02940078
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 30, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.0 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.