Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hanksville, Utah 84734
Sunday, March 7, 2004 11:30 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he and his wife were sightseeing. He said they had been airborne approximately 2 hours when the airplane's engine began running rough. The pilot would later describe this as a "vibration." The pilot said he checked his magnetos, the fuel tanks, the mixture, and propeller, and adjusted the throttle. None of these actions seemed to work. The pilot said he decided to put the airplane down on a dirt road. He said that as he was about to land, he noted that the road was narrower than he thought. The pilot said the road was soft. The airplane slowed down, but then the nose wheel dug into the soft dirt and the airplane flipped over. The airplane's wings, cowling, vertical stabilizer and rudder sustained substantial damage. An examination of the airplane's systems revealed no anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain to conduct a precautionary landing. Factors contributing to the accident was the soft, dirt road.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/7/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Hanksville
Event State UTAH
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 84734
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 375847N
Event Location Longitude 1111507W
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 1156 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 173
Weather Observation Facility ID PGA
Elevation of weather observation facility 4310
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 64
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
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) -2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.37
Density Altitude (feet) 4433
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15668
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Mar 7 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1242
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 30 2004 12:15PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Salt Lake City, Utah FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N29821
NTSB Number DEN04LA049
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 182P
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18261233
Certified Max Gross Weight 2950
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 Sep 20 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 79
Airframe Hours 3454
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Yes
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Edward R. Hunt
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Cedar City
Aircraft Owner State UT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 84720
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 PGA
Departure City Page
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1000
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code PGA
Destination City Page
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise - normal
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 4 2004 12:23PM
User who most recently changed record MCBM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --