Ute Dam Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Logan, New Mexico 88426
Tuesady, January 28, 2003 18:00 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said that he flew low level over Ute Lake from the west and then turned left to line up on the field. The pilot said at the last minute he realized he was lined up on a dirt road. He applied full power. The pilot said he was "too low and too slow, and [the] terrain was rising." He said he was also coming up on stall speed. The pilot said he flew under a first set of power lines and banked left to avoid a second set of power lines. The airplane struck several trees and a light pole crushing both wings rearward and crushing the cowling, firewall, and forward fuselage aft. The pilot said that when he initiated his go-around, he neglected to push in the carburetor heat or retract the flaps. An examination of the airplane at the scene confirmed this. No other anomalies were found.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's improper in-flight planning/decision, his failure to accomplish appropriate checklist items during the go-around, and his failure to maintain clearance from the trees and the lamp post. Factors contributing to the accident were the low altitude, low airspeed, the trees, and the lamp pole.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/28/2003
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1800
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Logan
Event State NEW MEXICO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 88426
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator --
On Ground Collision occurred ? --
Event Location Latitude 352123N
Event Location Longitude 1032615W
Event Location Airport Ute Dam Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID E97
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport 70
Airport Elevation 3900
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1753 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 210
Weather Observation Facility ID TCC
Elevation of weather observation facility 4064
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 13
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Night/Bright
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 17
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.02
Density Altitude (feet) 4453
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 4
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 4
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13334
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Jan 28 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1940
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 13 2003 12:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Albuquerque, New Mexico FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N64312
NTSB Number DEN03LA039
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172M
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17265162
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Oct 25 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 83.5
Airframe Hours 4273.1
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name United Aero, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address P. O. Box 1962
Aircraft Owner City Clovis
Aircraft Owner State NM
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 88102
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 CVS
Departure City Clovis
Departure State NM
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1740
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code E97
Destination City Logan
Destination State NM
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Go-around (VFR)
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 1 2003 2:50PM
User who most recently changed record MCBM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 21
Runway Length 3640
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --