Waco YMF-5 accident near Sedona, Arizona, November 8, 1997
On November 8, 1997 at about 7:12 pm local time, a Waco YMF-5, registered N369DP, was destroyed in an accident near Sedona, Arizona. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure and separation of the propeller for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 8, 1997 · about 7:12 pm local time
- Place
- Sedona, Arizona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Waco YMF-5
- Registration
- N369DP · registry record · serial 007
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that during the preflight inspection, he examined the propeller while pulling the engine through each cylinder and found no discrepancies. The aircraft was about 7 minutes into a 15-minute flight when he saw a 'spark or flash' at the 11 o'clock position on the nose, followed quickly by the complete separation of the propeller. He turned the aircraft back toward the airport but had insufficient altitude and landed in a hilly area of a canyon. A postcrash fire began and consumed the aircraft aft of the firewall. The aircraft was examined on site and following recovery of the wreckage. An unsuccessful search was made for the wooden propeller. The metal propeller hub remained attached to the engine crankshaft with fragments of the wood center section intertwined in the bolts. The wood remains were insufficient to determine either the model or serial number of the propeller, or the condition of the boltholes. Both the engine crankshaft splines and propeller hub splines were unremarkable. The remaining pieces of wood from the hub were submitted for laboratory evaluation. The examining laboratories reported that there was insufficient evidence available from the small fragments submitted to identify an initiating event in the propeller or the failure cause of the wood hub.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,700 hours in all; 1,600 in this make and model; 148 in the last 90 days; 82 in the last 30 days; 4,600 as pilot in command; 1,600 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,080 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 31, 1997; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Jacobs R755B2 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: SEZ at 6:55 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 15 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:56 pm from FLG, 42 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 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.
Other NTSB records under N369DP the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.