Cessna 172 accident near St. Johns, AZ
On September 15, 2018, a Cessna 172 (airplane) was involved in an accident near St. Johns, AZ. 3 people were seriously injured. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 15, 2018
- Place
- St. Johns, AZ
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 0 fatal, 3 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 34.514°N, 109.370°W
- NTSB ID
- 20180915X11112
Official records · WPR18LA262
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On September 15, 2018, about 1540 mountain standard time, Cessna 172N airplane, N734FT was substantially damaged shortly after takeoff from St Johns Industrial Airpark (SJN), St Johns, Arizona. The commercial pilot, pilot rated passenger and one passenger were seriously injured. The airplane was registered to R2D2 LLC and operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight, and a flight plan was not filed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident, with a reported destination as Phoenix Goodyear Airport (GYR), Goodyear, Arizona. In a report submitted to the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge, left seat pilot-in-command reported that he initially attempted takeoff from runway 21, but when he noticed that the airplane was not accelerating [fast enough] he elected to abort the takeoff. He then decided to take off from runway 14, which had a longer runway. The pilot stated that after he took off from runway 14, the airplane ascended to about 100 ft above ground level, but then observed that the airplane was not continuing to climb. At this time the right-seat occupant, who was a rated pilot and owner of the airplane, advised the pilot to turn left, as the terrain was lower in that direction. The pilot opined that the airplane then began to sink before the airplane collided with a stand of trees in his flight path. The pilot mentioned that there were no mechanical anomalies with either the airframe or the engine which would have precl
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning before takeoff in the high density altitude conditions, which resulted in the airplane being unable to maintain sufficient airspeed to continue to climb.
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.
