North American NAVION accident near Cedar City, Utah, August 2, 2020
On August 2, 2020 at about 2:41 pm local time, a 1947 North American NAVION, registered N225HJ, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Cedar City, Utah (Cedar City Rgnl 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
A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s improper fuel planning and failure to see and avoid the communications tower support guy wire.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 2, 2020 · about 2:41 pm local time
- Place
- Cedar City, Utah · Cedar City Rgnl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- North American NAVION No Series, built 1947 · all NAVIONs on the register
- Registration
- N225HJ · registry record · serial NAV-4-188
- 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 departed from Strawberry Valley Estates Airport (UT24), Alton, Utah, on a cross-country flight. The airplane flew in a direction that was consistent with a heading toward their planned destination, Cedar City Regional Airport (CDC), Cedar City, Utah. As the airplane neared its destination, witnesses heard the pilot make a distress call indicating that the airplane was out of gas and that he was trying to make a forced landing in a field. Other witnesses observed the airplane descending and then impacting terrain. Shortly thereafter, a nearby communications tower collapsed. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no preimpact malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane’s main fuel tanks held 20 gallons each with a total of 39.5 gallons of usable fuel. According to a friend of the pilot, the airplane was fueled at North Las Vegas Airport (VGT), Las Vegas, Nevada, on the day before the accident. The airplane then departed VGT and flew two flights with a total time of about 1 hour 55 minutes. On the day of the accident, the airplane departed UT24, which was about 30 miles (and about 20 minutes of flying time) from the last known point of contact from the previous day. The accident flight’s duration was about 31 minutes. The airplane’s distance traveled since fueling was consistent with consuming the usable fuel in the main fuel tanks. Thus, the airplane’s fuel load at the time of departure from UT24 was insufficient to complete the planned flight to CDC, and a total loss of engine power ensued. Additionally, examination of the airplane wreckage at the accident site revealed a support guy wire from the communications tower wrapped around the front of the airplane. Thus, while attempting the forced landing, the pilot failed to see and avoid the communications tower and subsequently struck the guy wire.
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
- Fuel exhaustion during enroute defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid management
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Fuel planning › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Tower/antenna (incl guy wires) › Effect on equipment
- Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring environment › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 100 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: unk
- Injury: fatal
Pilot-Rated Passenger
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 280 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: unk
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,308.3 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 14, 2020
- Maximum gross weight: 2,750 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental E-225-9 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: UT24 Alton UT at 2:14 pm
- Destination: CDC Cedar City UT
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 32°F (0°C)
- Altimeter: 30.21 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from KCDC, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number WPR20LA249.