AVALON, CA, USA
N733CN
Cessna 172N
The left seated pilot-in-command was flying the airplane while the right seated passenger, also a pilot, assisted in navigating. The pilot entered the right hand traffic pattern. To the pilot the airplane appeared slightly high turning onto the final approach leg, so full flaps were extended. The airplane descended below the level of the mountain top airport, and the pilot applied full engine power but did not retract the wing flaps. Seconds later the stall warning horn activated, the pilot banked right, and the airplane collided with the side of the cliff within 150 yards of the runway's approach end. A witness, who was awaiting takeoff, observed the approaching airplane. The witness stated that when the airplane was about 1/8 mile from the runway it was flying in a nose high attitude, its speed was slow, its flaps appeared fully extended, and it was very low.
On April 4, 1997, at 1330 hours Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172N, N733CN, operated by Concord Flight International, Concord, California, collided with terrain on short final approach to runway 22 at the Catalina Airport, Avalon, California. The airplane came to rest in an upside down attitude about 150 yards northwest of the approach end of the runway and was destroyed. The private pilot and the passenger were seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight. The flight originated from Camarillo, California, about 1300. The left seated pilot-in-command reported having no memory of the accident flight. The right seated passenger, also a private pilot, reported that during the flight he assisted the pilot in navigating. According to the passenger, they entered a right-hand traffic pattern for runway 22. Turning onto the final approach leg, the airplane appeared "a little high." The pilot fully extended the wing flaps and the airplane descended. Moments later, the pilot applied full engine power and banked right. The airplane did not out climb the terrain short of the threshold, the stall horn activated, and the airplane impacted the cliff. No unusual engine sounds or flight control problems were reported. A witness, who was awaiting takeoff short of the active runway, observed the approaching airplane. The witness stated that when the airplane was about 1/8 mile from the runway it was flying in a nose high attitude, its speed was slow, its flaps appeared fully extended, and it was very low. The witness lost sight of the inbound airplane when it descended below the top of the cliff. The Federal Aviation Administration coordinator and a representative from the Cessna Aircraft Company responded to the accident site where they examined the airplane. Both participants verbally reported finding no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airframe or engine.
The pilot's misjudging the airplane's altitude and distance to the runway and an excessive descent rate, which led to an undershoot, and the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed during the approach. Contributing factors were the pilot's delay in initiating corrective action.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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