Sedona Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sedona, Arizona 86336
Friday, July 9, 2010 22:00 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he had flown the approach at a shallow angle causing him to lose sight of the runway lighting system during the landing flare. During the flare the airplane drifted to the left resulting in the left main landing gear touching down in the dirt next to the runway. Subsequently the airplane veered to the left, and struck a runway sign. The pilot reported that he was unaware that he had struck the sign and was able to correct back to the center of the runway. The remainder of landing roll and taxi were uneventful. The damage to the underside of the left wing and the sign was not found until the following day. The pilot reported that there were no known mechanical malfunctions or failures prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s failure to maintain runway alignment during approach and subsequent loss of directional control during landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/9/2010
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 2200
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Sedona
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 86336
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 345032N
Event Location Longitude 1114711W
Event Location Airport Sedona
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KSEZ
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 4830
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2210 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID KSEZ
Elevation of weather observation facility 4830
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 44
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.19
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 27262
NTSB Notification Source FAA AWP Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 3 2010 9:23PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N36402
NTSB Number WPR10CA342
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA32RT
Aircraft Series Identifier 300T
Aircraft Serial Number 32R-7887041
Certified Max Gross Weight 3600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 20 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 100
Airframe Hours 3146
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name RAD Aviation LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City San Jose
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95120
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name RAD Aviation LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City San Jose
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 95120
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 KRHV
Departure City San Jose
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1808
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code KSEZ
Destination City Sedona
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 3 2010 9:24PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 03
Runway Length 5132
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --