Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Paulden, Arizona 86334
Friday, October 4, 2013 13:00 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On October 4, 2013, at 1300 mountain standard time, a Cessna 340A, N312GC, collided with a radio tower while maneuvering near Paulden, Arizona. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. The private pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The airplane departed from Bullhead City, Arizona about 1130.
A summation of several witnesses at a gun club reported the airplane made one high speed, low pass from north to south over the club's buildings, and then maneuvered around for another low pass from east to west. During the second low pass over the buildings, the airplane collided with an approximate 50 foot tall radio tower. The base of the tower was triangular shaped with each of the sides about two feet in length. About 10 feet of the tower was sheared off by the airplane's right wing. After the impact the airplane rolled to the right almost inverted and subsequently impacted trees and terrain approximately 700 feet southwest of the initial impact point. One witness reported that the airplane remained in a straight and level attitude until the impact. This witness also stated that about three to four years prior to this accident, the pilot, a client of the gun club, had "buzzed" the club and had been told never to do so again.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The 57 year old pilot held a private pilot certificate and was rated in single and multi-engine land, helicopter and instrument airplane. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records indicate that the pilot held a third class medical certificate dated August 16, 2012. A limitation indicated that the pilot must have glasses available for near vision. At the time of the medical application, the pilot reported a total flight time of 4,006 hours.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The six seat, low wing, retractable landing gear airplane, serial number 340A0023, was manufactured in 1975. It was powered by two Continental Motors TSIO-520 engines.
Maintenance records indicated that the last annual inspection was completed on April 25, 2013. At that time the airframe total time was reported as 7,690.0 hours. The entries for both the left and right engine indicated a tachometer time of 2,491.0 hours and 609.5 hours since major overhaul.
COMMUNICATIONS
At 1128, the pilot contacted Lockheed Martin Flight Service and reported that he was on the ground at Bullhead City and planned to fly to Prescott, Arizona. The pilot inquired about a temporary flight restriction (TFR) at Prescott and wanted to know what time the airport would reopen. The specialist confirmed that the airport would be open at 1130. Runways 12 and 30 were closed to fixed wing traffic due to air show activities. The specialist then inquired if the pilot wanted weather advisories. The pilot replied that he did and the specialist informed the pilot of an AIRMET for moderate turbulence below 14,000 feet all along the route of flight. The conversation ended at 1131.
At 1204, the pilot contacted flight watch reporting that he was 15 miles south of Kingman, Arizona, and wanted to confirm the ending time of the TFR at Prescott. The specialist confirmed that the TFR ended at 1130. Before the conversation ended the pilot provided a pilot report of the in-flight weather conditions. The pilot reported that he was at 11,500 feet and experiencing light chop to smooth air. The winds were from 340 degrees at 12 knots and the outside air temperature was 1 degree C. The conversation ended at 1209.
There were no further communications from the pilot.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
The airplane's right wing collided with the approximate 50 foot tall radio tower shearing off the top 10 feet of the tower. The right wing folded up after the impact and the airplane began a roll to the right to the almost inverted position. The airplane subsequently collided with trees and terrain about 700 feet southwest of the initial impact point. A postcrash fire consumed the wreckage.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
The office of the medical examiner, Yavapai County, performed an external examination on the pilot. The report indicated the cause of death as "blunt force trauma and thermal injury."
Toxicological samples were taken from the pilot and sent to the FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for analysis. The analysis revealed Metoprolol detected in urine and muscle; Rosuvastatin detected in urine and Zolpidem detected in urine and muscle.
TESTS AND RESEARCH
The wreckage was recovered to a secured facility in Phoenix, Arizona. A postaccident examination of the engines and the airframe revealed no evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation. Detailed reports are in the public docket.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/4/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1300 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Paulden |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 86334 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 345155N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1123122W |
| Event Location Airport | N/A |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1253 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 159 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PRC |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 5052 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 14 |
| 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) | 9 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 300 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.01 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 4 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 4 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 17 2014 5:39PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N312GC |
| NTSB Number | WPR14LA005 |
| 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 | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 340A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | A |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 340A0023 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 5990 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 6 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | PARRISH JAMES M |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | TERRELL |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 75160 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | PARRISH JAMES M |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | TERRELL |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 75160 |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | IFP |
| Departure City | Bullhead City |
| Departure State | AZ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1130 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PRC |
| Destination City | Prescott |
| Destination State | AZ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 17 2014 5:38PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |