Airplane Impacted Terrain In Mountainous Region Of Arizona, Six
Fatally Injured
It was the kind of holiday tragedy that no one likes to hear
about, much less report. A pilot picking up his kids for a
Thanksgiving visit flew into the side of a mountain just after
takeoff from Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ. The NTSB's Preliminary
report indicates that nothing appeared to be wrong with the
airplane, and the pilot gave no indication of any problems before
impact.
NTSB Identification: WPR12FA046
Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, November 23, 2011 in Apache Junction,
AZ
Aircraft: ROCKWELL 690, registration: N690SM
Injuries: 6 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may
contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when
the final report has been completed.
On November 23, 2011, about 1831 mountain standard time (MST), a
Rockwell International 690A, N690SM, was substantially damaged when
it impacted terrain in the Superstition Mountains near Apache
Junction, Arizona, about 5 minutes after takeoff from Falcon Field
(KFFZ), Mesa, Arizona. The certificated commercial pilot and the
five passengers, who included two adults and three children, were
fatally injured. The airplane was registered to Ponderosa Aviation,
which held a Part 135 operating certificate, and which was based at
Safford Regional Airport (KSAD), Safford, Arizona. The personal
flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of
Federal Regulations Part 91. Night visual meteorological conditions
prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
According to several witnesses, the children's father, who was a
co-owner of Ponderosa Aviation and who lived near SAD, regularly
used the operator's airplanes to transport the children, who lived
near KFFZ, between KFFZ and KSAD or vice versa. According to a
fixed base operation (FBO) line serviceman who was familiar with
the children and their father, on the night of the accident, the
children arrived at KFFZ about 15 minutes before the airplane
arrived. The airplane was marshaled into a parking spot adjacent to
the FBO building; it was already dark. The father was seated in the
front left seat and operating the airplane, and another individual
was in the front right seat. After shutdown, the father and a third
individual, whom the line serviceman had not seen before, exited
the airplane. The individual in the front right seat did not exit
the airplane; he remained in the cockpit with a flashlight,
accomplishing unknown tasks, and subsequently repositioned himself
to the front left seat.
The father went into the FBO to escort the children to the
airplane. The father, three children and the third individual
returned to the airplane. The individual in the front left seat
remained in that seat, the third individual seated himself in the
front right seat, and the father and three children situated
themselves in the rear of the airplane. Engine start and taxi-out
appeared normal to the line serviceman, who marshaled the airplane
out of its parking spot.
Review of the recorded communications between the airplane and
the KFFZ air traffic control tower (ATCT) revealed that when the
pilot requested taxi clearance, he advised the ground controller
that he was planning an "eastbound departure." The flight was
cleared for takeoff on runway 4R, and was instructed to maintain
runway heading until advised, due to an inbound aircraft. About 90
seconds later, the ATCT local controller issued a "right turn
approved" clearance to the flight. Review of the preliminary
ground-based radar tracking data revealed that the takeoff roll
began about 1826 MST, and the airplane began its right turn towards
SAD when it was about 2 miles east of KFFZ, and climbing through an
altitude of about 2,600 feet above mean sea level (msl). About
1828, the airplane reached an altitude of 4,500 feet msl, where it
remained, and tracked in an essentially straight line, until it
impacted the terrain. The last radar return was received at
1830:56, and was approximately coincident with the impact location.
The airplane's transponder was transmitting on a code of 1200 for
the entire flight.
The impact site was located on steep rocky terrain, at an
elevation of about 4,650 feet, approximately 150 feet below the top
of the local peak. Ground scars were consistent with impact in a
wings-level attitude. Terrain conditions, and impact- and
fire-damage precluded a thorough on-site wreckage examination. All
six propeller blades, both engines, and most major flight control
surfaces were identified in the wreckage. Propeller and engine
damage signatures were consistent with the engines developing power
at the time of impact. The wreckage was recovered to a secure
facility, where it will be examined in detail.
According to the operator's and FAA records, the pilot had
approximately 2,500 total hours of flight experience. He held
multiple certificates and ratings, including a commercial pilot
certificate with single-engine, multi-engine, and
instrument-airplane ratings. His most recent FAA second-class
medical certificate was issued in July 2011, and his most recent
flight review was completed in September 2011.
According to FAA information, the airplane was manufactured in
1976, and was equipped with two Honeywell TPE-331 series turboshaft
engines. The airplane was recently purchased by the operator, and
was flown from Indiana to the operator's base in Arizona about 1
week prior to the accident. The airframe had accumulated a total
time in service (TT) of approximately 8,188 hours. The left engine
had accumulated a TT since major overhaul (SMOH) of about 545
hours, and the right engine had accumulated a TTSMOH of 1,482
hours.
The KFFZ 1854 automated weather observation included winds from
350 degrees at 5 knots; visibility 40 miles; few clouds at 20,000
feet; temperature 23 degrees C; dew point -1 degrees C; and an
altimeter setting of 29.93 inches of mercury. U.S. Naval
Observatory data for November 23 indicated that the moon, which was
a waning crescent of 3 percent, set at 1605, and local sunset
occurred at 1721.