Cessna 501 accident near Canton, Ohio, August 2, 1979
On August 2, 1979 at about 8:02 pm local time, a Cessna 501, registered N15NY, was destroyed in an accident near Canton, Ohio. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to recognize the need for, and to take action to maintain, sufficient airspeed to prevent a stall into the ground during an attempted landing. The pilot also failed to recognize the need for timely and sufficient power application to prevent the stall during an approach conducted inadvertently without flaps extended. Contributing to the pilot's inability to recognize the problem and to take proper action was his failure to use the appropriate checklist, and his nonstandard pattern procedures which resulted in an abnormal approach profile.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 2, 1979 · about 8:02 pm local time
- Place
- Canton, Ohio · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 501 · all 501s on the register
- Registration
- N15NY · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-80/02. About 1607 e.d.t., on August 2, 1979, a Cessna Citation piloted by Mr. Thurman L. Munson crashed short of runway 19 at the Akron-Canton Airport near Canton, Ohio. The pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings during a local flight with two passengers aboard. The aircraft first touched down in a relatively level, clear area about 870 feet short of the runway. The aircraft slid through a small clump of trees, hit a large stump, and came to rest on a road adjacent to the airport boundary fence. Fire erupted immediatgley afther the aircraft came to rest. The two passengers escaped from the wreckage; the pilot was killed.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
The flight
- Departed from: CAK Canton OH
- Destination: CAK
Weather at the time
- Wind: from 280° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 4:00 pm from CAK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.