Cessna 340A accident near Paulden, AZ
On October 4, 2013, a Cessna 340A (airplane) was involved in an accident near Paulden, AZ. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- October 4, 2013
- Place
- Paulden, AZ
- Aircraft
- Cessna 340A · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 34.865°N, 112.523°W
- NTSB ID
- 20131004X93954
Official records · WPR14LA005
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Transcript: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 4, 2013, at 1300 mountain standard time, a Cessna 340A, N312GC, collided with a radio tower while maneuvering near Paulden, Arizona. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. The private pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The airplane departed from Bullhead City, Arizona about 1130. A summation of several witnesses at a gun club reported the airplane made one high speed, low pass from north to south over the club's buildings, and then maneuvered around for another low pass from east to west. During the second low pass over the buildings, the airplane collided with an approximate 50 foot tall radio tower. The base of the tower was triangular shaped with each of the sides about two feet in length. About 10 feet of the tower was sheared off by the airplane's right wing. After the impact the airplane rolled to the right almost inverted and subsequently impacted trees and terrain approximately 700 feet southwest of the initial impact point. One witness reported that the airplane remained in a straight and level attitude until the impact. This witness also stated that about three to four years prior to this accident, the pilot, a client of the gun club, had "buzzed" the club and had been told never to do so again. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe 57 year old pilot held a private pilot certificate and was rated in single and m
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to maintain sufficient altitude to clear a radio tower while maneuvering at low altitude and his decision to make a high-speed, low pass over the gun club.
More accidents in AZ
- De Havilland DHC-6-300, Sep 27, 1989
- Cessna 402C, Jun 19, 1992
- Piper PA-31-350, Aug 17, 1983
- Piper PA-31-350, Feb 13, 1995
- Cessna 421C, Sep 2, 1995
Browse: Arizona · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
