Cessna 421C N3851C

Summary

On 29 March 1991 at about 18:25 local time, a Cessna 421C registered N3851C, operated by George Mehl, was involved in an accident near Cortez, Colorado, United States. 5 people were on board and 5 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 March 1991 at 18:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Cortez, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Cortez-Montezuma County (CEZ)

Coordinates

37.3504, -108.5696

Aircraft

Cessna 421C

Registration

N3851C

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

George Mehl

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tucson → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN91FA056

5 people died.

THE PILOT'S IMPROPER IFR PROCEDURES. FACTORS WERE: THE EXISTING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO OBTAIN A PREFLIGHT BRIEFING.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE FLIGHT DEPARTED WITHOUT A FLIGHT PLAN OR WEATHER BRIEF. EN ROUTE DETERIORATING WEATHER WAS ENCOUNTERED AND AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED TO A REVISED DESTINATION. CLEARANCE WAS RECEIVED FOR A VOR APPROACH AND THE PILOT WAS ADVISED OF 1/2 MILE VISIBILITY IN SNOW AND FOG. A MISSED APPROACH WAS REPORTED OVER THE UNICOM FREQUENCY. IMPACT OCCURRED WITH A HEADING OF ABOUT 170 DEGREES AT 7,700 FEET MSL IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN ON THE 173 DEGREE RADIAL, 7.3 MILES FROM THE VOR. THE INBOUND COURSE TO THE FINAL APPROACH FIX WAS 170 DEGREES WITH AN INBOUND FINAL APPROACH COURSE OF 196 DEGREES. AIRPORT ELEVATION WAS 5,914 FEET MSL. THE AIRPORT WAS LOCATED ON THE 196 DEGREE RADIAL, 5.5 MILES FROM THE VOR FINAL APPROACH FIX. THE VOR APPROACH TO RUNWAY 21 CALLED FOR A MISSED APPROACH TO BE EXECUTED AT 5.5 DME FROM THE VOR AND A MINIMUM DESCENT ALTITUDE OF 6,600 FEET.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.