Cessna 175A N6970E

Summary

On 17 June 1995 at about 04:00 local time, a Cessna 175A registered N6970E, operated by Hoffman, Paul, was involved in an accident near Moab, Utah, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 June 1995 at 04:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Moab, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Canyonlands (CNY)

Coordinates

38.5294, -109.5491

Aircraft

Cessna 175A

Registration

N6970E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Hoffman, Paul

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Salt Lake City → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

SEA95FA120

1 person died.

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN PROPER ALTITUDE IN THE VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) TRAFFIC PATTERN. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO FOLLOW DISPATCH PROCEDURES, THE DARK NIGHT CONDITIONS, AND THE UNAVAILABILITY OF THE AIRPORT'S PILOT-CONTROLLED RUNWAY AND PRECISION APPROACH PATH INDICATOR (PAPI) LIGHTS.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PILOT WAS PERFORMING A NIGHT VFR APPROACH INTO THE UNCONTROLLED AIRPORT WHEN THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE TERRAIN ONE AND ONE HALF MILES FROM THE RUNWAY. A WITNESS OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN AND INDICATED THE AIRPLANE GROUND TRACK APPROXIMATED THE TRAFFIC PATTERN FOR RUNWAY 21 EXCEPT THAT THE AIRCRAFT LOOKED LOWER TO THE GROUND THAN A NORMAL PATTERN. THIS WITNESS SAW THE AIRPLANE MAKE A LEFT TURN, SIMILAR TO A BASE TURN, AND DESCEND FROM VIEW BEHIND A RIDGE LINE. THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT OCCURRED ABOUT 16 HOURS AFTER THE START OF THE PILOT'S DUTY DAY. THE COMPANY OPERATIONS MANUAL STATES THAT DUTY ASSIGNMENTS SHOULD NOT EXCEED 14 HOURS. FLIGHT SERVICE HAD BRIEFED THE PILOT BEFORE HIS DEPARTURE THAT THE RUNWAY LIGHTS AT HIS DESTINATION WERE OUT OF SERVICE.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.