John Day State Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

John Day, Oregon 97845
Saturday, December 16, 1995 12:00 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE OWNER WAS FLYING FROM THE RIGHT SEAT, DEMONSTRATING THE AIRPLANE TO THE LEFT SEAT PASSENGER/CFI FOR A POSSIBLE SALE. HE ESTABLISHED A NORMAL APPROACH FOR A LANDING, BUT IMPACTED THE GROUND ABOUT 150 FEET SHORT OF THE THRESHOLD.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A PROPER GLIDEPATH.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/16/1995
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1200
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City JOHN DAY
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97845
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport JOHN DAY STATE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 5J0
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 3700
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 3000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
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) 2
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 1198
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 16 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1215
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:54PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3171B
NTSB Number SEA96LA030
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 170B
Aircraft Series Identifier 170B
Aircraft Serial Number 25413
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 9 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 269
Airframe Hours 5000
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name DOUGLAS M. FERGUSON
Aircraft Owner Street Address BOX 519
Aircraft Owner City MOUNT VERNON
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97865
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
Owner has at least one certificate None
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 5J0
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1150
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 5J0
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 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 16
Runway Length 4500
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --