Amateur-built CH601 accident near Overgaard, Arizona, November 16, 2018
On November 16, 2018 at about 10:46 pm local time, a 2011 amateur-built CH601, registered N322JL, was substantially damaged in an accident during approach (VFR pattern final) near Overgaard, Arizona (Mogollon Airpark 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 failure to monitor the airport’s visual approach path indicator during the final approach to the upsloping runway, which resulted in a low approach path and impact with terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 16, 2018 · about 10:46 pm local time
- Place
- Overgaard, Arizona · Mogollon Airpark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built CH601 XL, built 2011
- Registration
- N322JL · no longer on the register · serial 5957
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot and pilot-rated passenger were completing the second leg of a multileg flight. Flight data indicated that the final approach was below the glideslope for the runway and the airplane’s airspeed was above the stall limit. During the approach, the airplane impacted a tall tree about 1,500 ft from the runway threshold, the roof of a house, and a second tree before coming to rest in a taxi area between houses. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Although the pilot should have been familiar with the runway characteristics given that he had a hangar near the airpark and had flown into the airpark before, it is likely that the upsloping runway and paved surfaces before the displaced threshold gave the pilot the visual illusion that the airplane was at a higher altitude than it actually was and that the pilot thus flew a lower approach. Although a visual approach path indicator was positioned left of the runway threshold, the pilot likely did not monitor the indicator during the final approach.
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
What happened, in order
- Controlled flight into terrain or object (CFIT) during approach (VFR pattern final) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Descent/approach/glide path › Not attained/maintained
- Personnel issues › Psychological › Perception/orientation/illusion › Visual illusion/disorientation › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring environment › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Tree(s) › Effect on operation
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; rotorcraft: unmanned (suas)
- Flight time: 1,490 hours in all; 36 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 0 hours in all; 0 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 1,320 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Jabiru 3300 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HII Lake Havasu City AZ
- Destination: AZ82 Overgaard AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 3,420 ft by 50 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 10:35 pm from KSOW, 27 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The NTSB has not released the docket for this case yet. The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), is usually released when the investigation is nearly complete, and the list here is refreshed when it appears. Check 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.