Cessna 172N N3535E

Summary

On 9 January 2002 at about 18:30 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N3535E was involved in an accident near Durango, Colorado, United States. 3 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 January 2002 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Durango, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

37.5500, -107.8669

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N3535E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Farmington → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW02LA063

2 people were seriously injured.

the pilot's failure to maintain clearance with the trees and mountainous terrain while maneuvering. A contributing factor was the pilot's delay in taking remedial action.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and his two friends were on a local mountain sightseeing flight. While flying over a canyon, the pilot commented to his passengers that "the flight was proceeding exactly as I had hoped and that our airspeed and rate of climb were both exactly where I wanted them to be (80 kias and 500 fpm)." While pointing out the terrain features to his passengers, the pilot noticed the airplane's altitude was lower than the canyon rim, and the climb rate and airspeed began to decrease. After the airplane's descent rate increased, he attempted to turn the airplane around and exit the canyon. While executing a turn to the right, the stall warning horn sounded, and the pilot decided to execute a precautionary landing to a clearing. During the ensuing precautionary landing, the airplane impacted trees and the terrain. The elevation at the accident site was 9,430 feet msl.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.