Zenith CH601 N322JL

Summary

On 16 November 2018 at about 22:46 local time, a Zenith CH601 registered N322JL, operated by Lynch Jay A, was involved in an accident near Overgaard, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 November 2018 at 22:46

Classification

Accident

Location

Overgaard, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Mogollon Airpark (AZ82)

Coordinates

34.4058, -110.5242

Aircraft

Zenith CH601

Registration

N322JL

Category

Airplane

Year built

2011

Engines

1

Operator

Lynch Jay A

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lake Havasu City → Overgaard

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR19FA026

2 people died.

The pilot’s failure to monitor the airport’s visual approach path indicator during the final approach to the upsloping runway, which resulted in a low approach path and impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and pilot-rated passenger were completing the second leg of a multileg flight. Flight data indicated that the final approach was below the glideslope for the runway and the airplane’s airspeed was above the stall limit. During the approach, the airplane impacted a tall tree about 1,500 ft from the runway threshold, the roof of a house, and a second tree before coming to rest in a taxi area between houses. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Although the pilot should have been familiar with the runway characteristics given that he had a hangar near the airpark and had flown into the airpark before, it is likely that the upsloping runway and paved surfaces before the displaced threshold gave the pilot the visual illusion that the airplane was at a higher altitude than it actually was and that the pilot thus flew a lower approach. Although a visual approach path indicator was positioned left of the runway threshold, the pilot likely did not monitor the indicator during the final approach.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.