Cessna 182G accident near Tuba City, Arizona, September 23, 2000
On September 23, 2000 at about 3:43 am local time, a Cessna 182G, registered N3103S, was destroyed in an accident near Tuba City, Arizona (Tuba City Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's inadvertent descent into terrain on the downwind leg for landing. Contributing to the accident was the dark night and sparse population.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 23, 2000 · about 3:43 am local time
- Place
- Tuba City, Arizona · Tuba City Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182G · all 182Gs on the register
- Registration
- N3103S · registry record · serial 18255063
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot had volunteered the use of his airplane for the Flights For Life, Inc. organization, and was transporting blood to an Indian reservation airport. According to a courier for the hospital, the airplane was to arrive about 2035. The courier arrived about 2025, and about 2030, the pilot-operated runway lights came on. Within 3 to 5 minutes the courier saw an airplane's lights heading toward the airport. The airplane flew from south to north; she estimated about two telephone poles above the airport, continued north, and did not land. The courier estimated that the winds, which were rocking her car, were from the west. After waiting some period of time, she advised the hospital that the airplane did not arrive and she departed. She said the winds were calm at the time of her departure. The airplane was located the next day on the downwind leg in mountainous/hilly terrain. It was a dark night with few ground references.
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
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 4,454 hours in all; 3 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,840 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 1, 1999; 129 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-R (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DVT Deer Valley AZ at 2:30 am
- Destination: T03 AZ
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 15, 6,230 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 200° at 15 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 135°F (57°C), dew point 90°F (32°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:54 am from GCN, 38 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.