Accident Summary
On July 4, 1993, approximately 0320 mountain standard time, a Cessna T303, registration N9667C, collided with terrain about 2,000 feet short of the approach end of runway 21 at Ernest A. Love Field in Prescott, Arizona. The airplane was destroyed. The commercial pilot and four passengers were fatally injured. The flight was a personal local flight that had departed Love Field about two minutes prior to the accident. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
Pre-Accident Events
The accident airplane arrived at Love Field about 2300 hours on July 3, 1993. An airport operations specialist greeted the airplane and asked if the pilot needed fuel. Three males exited the airplane, one carrying a can of beer. An occupant replied, "Not right now, maybe later or in the morning." The operations specialist asked if they had a place to stay; they indicated they were meeting friends. The night manager of the Airport Centre Motel, located off the west boundary of Love Field, observed the three men walking from the airport around 2330 hours, all drinking from cans. The manager could not identify the beverage type. At 2300 hours, a girlfriend of one passenger received a call requesting a ride from Love Field to downtown Prescott. She met her boyfriend and two other friends, all holding beer cans, and dropped them off downtown.
Around 0100 hours on July 4, three women leaving the Palace Saloon were approached by three men. One man identified himself as a pilot. A woman asked, "How many hours do you need from bottle to throttle?" The pilot responded, "Eight, but I guess I will have to break that rule tonight." The group walked together; the woman described the pilot as quiet, friendly, not intoxicated, and at one point apologetic for being quiet. He stated he was very tired, had been in Laughlin, Nevada, the night before, worked all day, rented the airplane, and flew to Prescott. Later, the group ate at a restaurant and went to the women's hotel. The men requested a ride to the airport, and the women agreed. During the ride, the pilot remained quiet with his eyes closed. They arrived at the airport about 0245 hours.
The men offered to show the women the airplane. The pilot opened the cockpit. The woman asked another man, "Why is the pilot so quiet, is he drunk?" He replied, "No, he only had a few drinks." She then heard the pilot and another man talking in the cockpit; the pilot was trying to activate the pilot-controlled lighting, and the other man instructed, "stop clicking the button so many times, and that it was supposed to be three clicks and then stop." The men offered a 10-minute ride. One woman refused; two accepted and boarded. The woman who refused waited in the vehicle.
Communications and Radar Data
At 0254 hours, the pilot contacted Prescott Flight Service Station (FSS) on frequency 122.4 MHz about the lighting system. After consulting the Airport/Facility Directory, the ATC specialist informed the pilot the lights were activated on 125.3 MHz. The specialist then heard seven clicks on 122.4 MHz and advised the pilot. The pilot replied, "Thank you, sir, we got 'em." At 0259, the specialist asked if further assistance was needed; the pilot said no. The specialist issued the Prescott altimeter setting (29.92 inHg) and asked if the pilot had the flight precaution for turbulence. The pilot did not, and the specialist issued AIRMET Tango for occasional moderate turbulence below 20,000 feet. The pilot acknowledged. No further communications occurred.
FAA radar data from Albuquerque Center tracked a single aircraft in the Love Field traffic pattern at 0319 hours, showing ten positions corresponding to right traffic for runway 21. The tracked airplane reached an altitude of 6,500 feet mean sea level, about 1,500 feet above ground.
Probable Cause
The official probable cause was: The pilot misjudging distance and altitude during a night approach. Factors which contributed to the accident were: the pilot's impairment due to fatigue exacerbated by alcohol consumption, the dark night, and the high density altitude and turbulent weather condition.