Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Quartzsite, Arizona 85346
Saturday, July 26, 1997 8:00 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot was conducting his third unsupervised cross-country flight. He stated that the aircraft 'seemed like it was low on fuel.' He said he could not find the Blythe Airport on the VFR sectional. He stated he panicked and circled Quartzsite looking for a place to land the airplane. He finally elected to land on a city street. During the landing rollout, the airplane's wing hit a signpost and the propeller contacted the ground.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's decision to land the airplane on a residential street, where the airplane subsequently hit a sign during the landing roll. Factors related to the accident were the student pilot becoming lost/disoriented during his cross country flight and his subsequent panic.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/26/1997
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 800
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City QUARTZSITE
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85346
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 750 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 60
Weather Observation Facility ID BLH
Elevation of weather observation facility 397
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 26
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 14000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 40
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 32
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
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) 29
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 518
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 26 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 925
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:25PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9903G
NTSB Number LAX97LA264
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model A150L
Aircraft Series Identifier A150L
Aircraft Serial Number A1500456
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 20 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 69
Airframe Hours 12539
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name DENNIS W. GENZMAN
Aircraft Owner Street Address SELLS STAR RT. BOX 258
Aircraft Owner City TUCSON
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85735
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code RYN
Departure City RYAN
Departure State AZ
Departure Country
Departure Time 530
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 1CA4
Destination City BLYTHE
Destination State AZ
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 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --