Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Chinle Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Chinle, Arizona 86503
Sunday, August 27, 1995 20:03 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The aircraft is based at the dirt airstrip to provide aeromedical evacuation capability for the Navajo Nation. The pilot landed on runway 17 to avoid obstacles on the approach end of runway 35 during the night landing. The Navajo authorities said the winds were southerly at about 30 knots when the aircraft attempted to land. The windsock is not illuminated, and neither the airport nor the CTAF are attended after dark. The pilot said that after touchdown as the aircraft passed the hangar he observed the windsock sticking straight out indicating a tailwind. The pilot said he applied maximum braking, but could not stop prior to over running the departure end of the runway. The aircraft traveled down an embankment, through a ditch, and collided with two steel irrigation posts before coming to rest. FAA inspectors traveled to the accident site and examined both the runway and the aircraft. The touchdown point for the aircraft was identified as about the midpoint of the runway. Tire marks were apparent from that point to where the aircraft left the departure end of the runway and went through a cattle guard. A ditch was associated with the cattle guard. The FAA inspector said the ground distance traveled from the touchdown point was about the normal ground roll for the aircraft under the reported 20- to 30-knot tailwind condition. No discrepancies were identified with the aircraft.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's selection of a runway inappropriate for the tailwind condition and his resultant failure to achieve a touchdown point which would allow the aircraft to stop prior to over running the departure end. The rough condition of the dirt runway, the lack of lighted wind indicators, and the operator's failure to develop procedures for night operations at the airport are factors in the accident.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/27/1995 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 2003 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | CHINLE |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 86503 |
| Event Date Year | 1995 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | CHINLE AIRPORT |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | Q32 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 5515 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1957 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | Q32 |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 5515 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 10000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 25 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 160 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 30 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 7500 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1522 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 27 1995 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2036 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 7 2000 4:31PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N745CA |
| NTSB Number | LAX95LA315 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 421C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 421C |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 421C-1043 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 7450 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 28 1995 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 89 |
| Airframe Hours | 4087 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | CRITICAL AIR MEDICINE, INC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4141 KEARNY VILLA ROAD |
| Aircraft Owner City | SAN DIEGO |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 92123 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | IDUA |
| 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 | PHX |
| Departure City | PHOENIX |
| Departure State | AZ |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1840 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | Q32 |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing |
| 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 | 35 |
| Runway Length | 4200 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |