Sedona Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sedona, Arizona 86336
Saturday, April 6, 1996 10:15 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said that he encountered a dust devil when he flared the airplane for landing. He applied power, but the left wing and nose dropped and contacted the runway. A ground witness said that the airplane's left wing dropped when the pilot flared the airplane, but he did not report any dust devil activity in the area. He said that the surface winds were less than 5 knots. The AWOS reported the surface winds at 6 knots, gusting to 15 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot misjudged the flare.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/6/1996
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1015
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City SEDONA
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 86336
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport SEDONA
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SEZ
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 4827
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1021 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID SEZ
Elevation of weather observation facility 4827
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 20
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 15
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 6000
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 222
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Mar 6 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1015
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 9:56AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N62038
NTSB Number LAX96LA157
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 172
Aircraft Series Identifier 172
Aircraft Serial Number 172-25201
Certified Max Gross Weight 2407
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 Jan 28 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 44
Airframe Hours 3223
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name GOTTFRIED SCHMIDT
Aircraft Owner Street Address 15808 N. 63RD ST.
Aircraft Owner City SCOTTSDALE
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85264
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code DVT
Departure City PHOENIX
Departure State AZ
Departure Country
Departure Time 925
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code SEZ
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 3
Runway Length 5100
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --