Piper PA-31-350 N27245

Summary

On 13 February 1995 at about 22:36 local time, a Piper PA-31-350 registered N27245, operated by Las Vegas Airlines, was involved in an accident near Tusayan, Arizona, United States. 10 people were on board and 8 died, 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 February 1995 at 22:36

Classification

Accident

Location

Tusayan, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Grand Canyon Natl Park (GCN)

Coordinates

36.0296, -112.0203

Aircraft

Piper PA-31-350

Registration

N27245

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Las Vegas Airlines

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Las Vegas

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DCA95MA019

8 people died.

a loss of power on one engine for an undetermined reason(s), and the pilot's improper decision to return to the departure airport for landing which neccessitated maneuvering over increasingly higher terrain. Factors in the accident were: the high gusting wind, the high density altitude, the rising terrain, and the reduced single-engine performance capability of the airplane under these conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The charter flight was on a return tour trip after landing at the Grand Canyon National Park airport. No fueling or maintenance was performed on the airplane while it sat on the ground for three hours. Shortly after takeoff from runway 21, the pilot transmitted that he had a problem and was declaring an emergency. He then stated '...i'm single engine right now....' The airplane was observed to be 100-200 feet above the terrain at the time. It continued flying for about 6 minutes, turning onto a crosswind, downwind, and then a right base leg for runway 21 before colliding with trees about 2.5 miles northeast of the airport. The airport is located in terrain that slopes upward from south to north and west to east. Winds were gusting to 29 knots. The density altiude was 6,870 feet. Examination of the suspect left engine did not reveal any evidence of failures or malfunctions. The investigation revealed deficiencies in the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of the airline's maintenance program, and in the airline's extension of the time-in-service interval of the engines. The airline's AAIP does not require a maximum rated power check of the engines as required by the engine manufacturer's service instruction. In addition, the TBO of the engines had been extended from 1,800 to 2,400 hours.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.