Canyonlands Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Moab, Utah 84532
Friday, June 16, 1995 22:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE PILOT WAS PERFORMING A NIGHT VFR APPROACH INTO THE UNCONTROLLED AIRPORT WHEN THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE TERRAIN ONE AND ONE HALF MILES FROM THE RUNWAY. A WITNESS OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN AND INDICATED THE AIRPLANE GROUND TRACK APPROXIMATED THE TRAFFIC PATTERN FOR RUNWAY 21 EXCEPT THAT THE AIRCRAFT LOOKED LOWER TO THE GROUND THAN A NORMAL PATTERN. THIS WITNESS SAW THE AIRPLANE MAKE A LEFT TURN, SIMILAR TO A BASE TURN, AND DESCEND FROM VIEW BEHIND A RIDGE LINE. THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT OCCURRED ABOUT 16 HOURS AFTER THE START OF THE PILOT'S DUTY DAY. THE COMPANY OPERATIONS MANUAL STATES THAT DUTY ASSIGNMENTS SHOULD NOT EXCEED 14 HOURS. FLIGHT SERVICE HAD BRIEFED THE PILOT BEFORE HIS DEPARTURE THAT THE RUNWAY LIGHTS AT HIS DESTINATION WERE OUT OF SERVICE.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN PROPER ALTITUDE IN THE VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) TRAFFIC PATTERN. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO FOLLOW DISPATCH PROCEDURES, THE DARK NIGHT CONDITIONS, AND THE UNAVAILABILITY OF THE AIRPORT'S PILOT-CONTROLLED RUNWAY AND PRECISION APPROACH PATH INDICATOR (PAPI) LIGHTS.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/16/1995
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 2200
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City MOAB
Event State UTAH
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 84532
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport CANYONLANDS
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CNY
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport 30
Airport Elevation 4553
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2048 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 283
Weather Observation Facility ID U34
Elevation of weather observation facility 4225
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 26
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 6000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 50
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1150
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 19 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 830
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:21PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6970E
NTSB Number SEA95FA120
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 175A
Aircraft Series Identifier 175A
Aircraft Serial Number 56470
Certified Max Gross Weight 2350
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection May 20 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 48
Airframe Hours 7313
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WISCHMEYER, JIM
Aircraft Owner Street Address 22272 PEPPER RD UNIT D
Aircraft Owner City BARRINGTON
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 60010
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name HOFFMAN, PAUL
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 0375 COUNTY RD 352
Operator City RIFLE
Operator State CO
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 81650
Operator Code OTCA
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SLC
Departure City SALT LAKE CITY
Departure State UT
Departure Country
Departure Time 2031
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code CNY
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 21
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --