Monument Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Monument Valley, Utah 84536
Wednesday, September 4, 1985 16:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE PILOT SAID THAT DURING HIS APPROACH TO LDG HE ENCOUNTERED A DOWNDRAFT. HE SUBSEQUENTLY LOST CONTROL OF THE A/C. THE A/C STALLED AND IMPACTED THE GRD HARD CAUSING SUBST DAMAGE.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/4/1985
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City MONUMENT VALLEY
Event State UTAH
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 84536
Event Date Year 1985
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport MONUMENT VALLEY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 71V
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 5192
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
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 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) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 225
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 7676
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) 2029
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 4 1985 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1630
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 29423
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 9:15AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N52456
NTSB Number DEN85LA237
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 172P
Aircraft Series Identifier 172P
Aircraft Serial Number 17274530
Certified Max Gross Weight 2150
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 Aug 30 1985 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 85
Airframe Hours 1112
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Yes
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name NICHOLAS A. ORSINI
Aircraft Owner Street Address 10223 ADMIRAL HALSE DR. NE.
Aircraft Owner City ALBUQUERQUE
Aircraft Owner State NM
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 87111
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 GCN
Departure City GRAND CANYON
Departure State AZ
Departure Country
Departure Time 1210
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 71V
Destination City MONUMENT VALLEY
Destination State UT
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:36AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 16
Runway Length 3100
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --