ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 238997
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| Date: | Sunday 2 August 2020 |
| Time: | 08:41 |
| Type: |  North American Navion A |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N225HJ |
| MSN: | NAV-4-188 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1947 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2308 hours |
| Engine model: | Continental E-225-9 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Cedar City, UT -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Strawberry Valley Estates Airport, UT (UT24) |
| Cedar City Airport, UT (CDC/KCDC) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On August 2, 2020, about 0841 mountain daylight time, a North American Navion airplane, N225HJ, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Cedar City Regional Airport (CDC), Cedar City, Utah. The pilot and pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot and pilot-rated passenger departed from Strawberry Valley Estates Airport (UT24), Alton, Utah, on a cross-country flight. The airplane flew in a direction that was consistent with a heading toward their planned destination, Cedar City Regional Airport (CDC), Cedar City, Utah. As the airplane neared its destination, witnesses heard the pilot make a distress call indicating that the airplane was out of gas and that he was trying to make a forced landing in a field. Other witnesses observed the airplane descending and then impacting terrain. Shortly thereafter, a nearby communications tower collapsed.
Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no preimpact malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane’s main fuel tanks held 20 gallons each with a total of 39.5 gallons of usable fuel. According to a friend of the pilot, the airplane was fueled at North Las Vegas Airport (VGT), Las Vegas, Nevada, on the day before the accident. The airplane then departed VGT and flew two flights with a total time of about 1 hour 55 minutes. On the day of the accident, the airplane departed UT24, which was about 30 miles (and about 20 minutes of flying time) from the last known point of contact from the previous day. The accident flight’s duration was about 31 minutes. The airplane’s distance traveled since fueling was consistent with consuming the usable fuel in the main fuel tanks. Thus, the airplane’s fuel load at the time of departure from UT24 was insufficient to complete the planned flight to CDC, and a total loss of engine power ensued.
Additionally, examination of the airplane wreckage at the accident site revealed a support guy wire from the communications tower wrapped around the front of the airplane. Thus, while attempting the forced landing, the pilot failed to see and avoid the communications tower and subsequently struck the guy wire.
Probable Cause: A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s improper fuel planning and failure to see and avoid the communications tower support guy wire.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/08/02/small-plane-crashes-cedar/
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-plane-crash-kills-2-utah-20200802-4aouttcbl5ezpf6cy4xvt2o4ma-story.html
https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/small-plane-crash-near-cedar-city-sunday-morning
NTSB
FAA
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N225HJ
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N225HJ
https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/000328833.html (photo, in old c/s)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 1 September 1991 | N91736 | Private | 0 | Chehalis, WA | |
w/o |
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Aug-2020 21:39 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 02-Aug-2020 22:58 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 03-Aug-2020 00:14 | Geno | Updated [Location, Source] |
| 03-Aug-2020 02:56 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 03-Aug-2020 13:07 | Anon. | Updated [Time, Source] |
| 03-Aug-2020 16:14 | Anon. | Updated [Source] |
| 03-Aug-2020 19:41 | Captain Adam | Updated [Phase, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 08-Sep-2020 12:43 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Jun-2021 15:27 | Anon. | Updated [Aircraft type, Source] |
| 15-Sep-2022 01:40 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report, Photo] |
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