Piper PA-31-350 accident near Flagstaff, Arizona, September 21, 1990
On September 21, 1990 at about 12:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N3558, was destroyed in an accident near Flagstaff, Arizona (Flagstaff airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
VFR FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN PROPER ALTITUDE DURING THE APPROACH TO LAND. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARKNESS, THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, AND FAILURE OF COMPANY/OPERATOR/MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL TO PROVIDE CURRENT WEATHER.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 21, 1990 · about 12:45 pm local time
- Place
- Flagstaff, Arizona · Flagstaff
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N3558 · registry record · serial 31-8052072
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS ON A NIGHT FLT FM PHOENIX TO FLAGSTAFF, AZ, TO DELIVER CARGO IN ACCORDANCE WITH AN AIR TAXI DELIVERY SCHEDULE. BFR REACHING FLAGSTAFF, THE PLT CANCELED HIS IFR CLNC & PROCEEDED VFR. HE ENCTRD LOWERING CIGS & RW. DRG THE APCH, HE EXTENDED THE LNDG GEAR & PARTIALLY EXTENDED THE WING FLAPS. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT HIT TREES & CRASHED IN AN UNPOPULATED AREA ABT 2.5 MI SSE OF THE ARPT AT AN ELEV OF ABT 6800 FT; ARPT ELEV WAS 7011 FT. INITIAL IMPACT OCCURRED WHILE THE ACFT WAS IN A RIGHT 20 DEG BANK (TOWARD RWY 3). WX DATA AT THE COMPANY DISPATCH WAS NOT CURRENT & DID NOT DEPICT THE ADVERSE LOCAL CONDS NEAR THE DESTN ARPT.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all; 2,500 in this make and model; 75 in the last 90 days; 33 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,293 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 12, 1990; 46 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: P.M. Air
The flight
- Departed from: PHX Phoenix AZ at 12:06 pm
- Runway 0, 6,999 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 120° at 9 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,500 ft; scat at 1,800 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:46 pm from FLG, 2 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.