October 16, 1971: Scenic Airlines, Inc., Cessna 402 (N3250Q) Grand Canyon, AZ
On October 16, 1971, a Cessna 402 (N3250Q) departed from North Las Vegas Airport (KVGT) en-route to Grand Canyon National Park Airport (KGCN). The air tour flight was being operated by Scenic Airlines and was scheduled to be 90 minutes in duration. Pilot Wayne Leeth age 46, had flown the route more than 600 times and had more than 2,400 hours total time with 415 hours in the Cessna 402.
A fast moving cold front brought snow showers and low visibility that morning as the flight of four tour aircraft made their way eastbound through the canyon. With the ceiling and visibility dropping, the four planes began to turn back for Las Vegas. Captain Leeth was the last aircraft to turn around after attempting to make it over the Shivwits Plateau near Parashant Canyon. Captain Leeth's last radio call was that he was turning back due to weather. The time was 9:45 AM.
With only three of his four planes safely back on the ramp, a concerned John Siebold (Scenic Airlines owner) began to take the steps in an attempt to locate the overdue aircraft. Without success, the official search was under way by 2:00 PM. The weather continued to hamper the search efforts and it wasn't until the next day around noon that the scattered wreckage of N3250Q was discovered on a snow covered plateau. All ten persons on-board were killed.
Wayne Leeth...............Pilot
Dr. James Allen Jr.......Princeton, NJ
Mrs. Florence Allen.....Princeton, NJ
Dr. R. Lynch................Chicago, IL
Mrs. R. Lynch..............Chicago, IL
Mr. P. Dosmond...........Paris, France
Mrs. P. Dosmond.........Paris, France
Mr. Paul Haack............Erlangen, W. Germany
Mrs. Renate Haack......Erlangen, W. Germany
Mr. Walter Pilgram.......Erlangen, W. Germany
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HISTORICAL SUMMARY:
This crash site took about fifteen years of on and off searching plus a little luck to locate. The published location was vague. The various newspaper articles had the plane crashing either on Mt. Trumbull, Pine Mountain, in Parashant Canyon or near the top of Parashant Canyon. Even more confusing, the NTSB listed the accident location as Colorado City (nearly 60 miles north of the crash site). I tried to narrow it down with the Civil Air Patrol's wreckage location list and it turned out that the listed CAP coordinate was about a mile from the actual crash site.
It wasn't until 2008 I made a random turn in an aircraft near Parashant Canyon that I looked down and there it was. The crash site is remote, but accessible with four-wheel drive vehicle. The site is located within the boundaries of land managed by the Grand Canyon National Park.
A visit to the crash site revealed that even though wreckage remains today, major components were missing and were either salvaged or removed during the accident investigation process. A list of significant components not located at the crash site during my visit included:
Both Continental TSIO-520-VB turbocharged engines.
Both propellers and/or blades.
Both (left and right) wing structures and tip-type fuel tanks.
Both horizontal stabilizers and vertical stabilizer.
Main cabin door (upper and lower doors).
All three landing gear assemblies with wheels and tires.
Many flight instruments and gauges.
Both crew and passenger seats.
Somehow, this historical crash site has escaped the park service's "cleaning process" of removing aircraft wreckage from public lands. The site should be preserved not only as a memorial to those that perished in this disaster, but also as a testament to the perils faced by early air tour pilots when safety technologies to avoid weather and terrain was not available.
SCENIC AIRLINES, INC. - 1971
Scenic Airlines was founded in June 1967 by John and Liz Siebold with a five passenger Cessna 205. The small airline operated tours to the Grand Canyon. In 1977, the airline became one of the top ten commuter airlines in the United States.
By 1993, Scenic Airlines was largest air tour operator in the world and the largest tour operator flying in the Grand Canyon.
Today, Scenic Airlines exists in name only utilizing the name for marketing purposes. Having been purchased by Grand Canyon Airlines in 2007, the former Scenic Airlines aircraft consisting of DeHavilland Twin Otters operate under the Grand Canyon Airlines name and certificate.
The Scenic Airlines fleet of 1970-1971 consisted of a Piper PA-23 Aztec, Cessna 336 Skymaster, Cessna 205, and two Cessna 402s. Pictured is Cessna 402, N3250Q.
All shown parked on the ramp in front of the main passenger terminal at the Grand Canyon Airport.
This 1971 promotional brochure not only detailed the tour itinerary, but also featured the accident aircraft on the front cover.
AIRCRAFT INVOLVED
Cessna 402, N3250Q (s/n: 402-0050) operated by Scenic Airlines shown in a promotional photograph taken over the Grand Canyon.
The Cessna 402 is a 10 place light twin piston engine aircraft. The Cessna 402 line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the names Utiliner and Businessliner.
The Cessna 402 was not pressurized, nor was it particularly fast for the installed horsepower. Instead Cessna intended the 402 to be inexpensive to purchase and operate.
A typical early 1970s instrument panel layout for the Cessna 402. The accident aircraft was instrument equipped, but possible airframe icing and/or spatial disorientation by the pilot are the most likely probable causes for this CFIT (Controlled Flight Into Terrain) disaster.
An unidentified air tour passenger poses next to N3250Q during a stop at Grand Canyon National Park Airport in September 1970.
THE ACCIDENT - OCTOBER 16, 1971
The weather on the morning of October 16, 1971 was less than ideal for sightseeing. A winter cold front was moving through the area creating isolated snow showers and areas of low visibility within the Grand Canyon.
Just before 9:00 AM, passengers began boarding four aircraft operated by Scenic Airlines. The destination was Grand Canyon National Park Airport.
Having to turn back due to poor weather conditions, only three of the four aircraft would make it back to Las Vegas. Missing was N3250Q.
Loosing his reference with the ground and horizon, Captain Leeth's only option for survival was to completely rely on his flight instruments and - CLIMB.
Pure speculation, but perhaps Captain Leeth continued to search through the clouds for visual landmarks. No one will ever know. What is known, is that within a few seconds, the aircraft began loosing altitude rapidly while flying low over the canyon's rim.
A day went by as search and rescue teams scoured the many remote northern arizona landing strips in a desperate hope that Captain Leeth had landed the plane to wait out the storms.
After the wreckage was discovered late in the day on the 17th, the next day newspaper headlines announced the grim news.
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Haack of Erlangen, West Germany shown here in August 1971, only a few months prior to their overseas trip to the United States. (Photo courtesy of Birgit Scharowsky)
Dr. James Edward Allen Jr. worked for the New York State Education Department for twenty-two years, serving in a number of executive positions.
In February 1969 Dr. Allen was appointed Assistant Secretary for Education in the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare and U.S. Commissioner of Education. He served at this post briefly, resigning in June 1970 when it became clear he could no longer work with the Nixon administration because of strong disagreements over education policy and the war in Vietnam.
In October 1970 Dr. Allen joined the faculty of Princeton University. Dr. Allen was traveling with his wife Florence on the ill-fated Scenic Airlines flight.
An Army National Guard Helicopter was brought in from Phoenix to help in the recovery of victims from the remote crash site.
N3250Q LOCATED FROM THE AIR - 2008
The aircraft impacted on the north slope of a small ravine with a majority of the wreckage lying within a dry wash.
An aerial photograph of the main impact site taken on December 12, 2008 illustrates the destruction of the Cessna 402 and the remaining wreckage.
This fuselage fragment was located several hundred feet from the main impact site. The fragment showing the oval windows that were characteristic of early Cessna 402s.
THE ARIZONA STRIP - JUNE 2010
Access to the crash site is limited to travel on vast expanses of dirt road leading south from St. George, Utah into a remote area of Northern Arizona known as the "Arizona Strip".
The drive across dirt roads covered more than 80+ miles one way. I was able to drive within a half mile of the crash site. At that point the road deteriorated into a rutted trail that required the use of an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV).
THE ACCIDENT SITE
This is one of very few crash sites in the Grand Canyon region that I have been able to drive my ATV directly to the site.
A small trail that was probably created by the recovery teams in 1971 allowed access into the area.
Using my GPS and the coordinates I plotted during my aerial survey of the site in 2008, allowed me to navigate the ATV to the crash site with little effort.
Aircraft wreckage was strewn everywhere and the satisfaction of finally visiting the site gave way to the realization that nearly forty years prior ten people instantly lost their lives here on a cold stormy morning.
LOCATING THE POINT OF IMPACT (POI)
As soon as I arrived at the crash site I went to work. I first walked the area to determine the dimensions of the debris field and noted the locations of identifiable wreckage debris.
Being that this was a remote crash site, very few people knew the location and a majority of the wreckage had not been disturbed since the accident. After a few minutes of surveying the site and I was able to determine the Point-of-Impact (POI) location.
The aircraft hit the north slope and disintegrated into the bottom of the ravine. Some wreckage came to rest on the adjacent south slope.
I was able to determine the POI by locating an area of aircraft structure and components that exhibited ground impact scarring and crushing characteristics.
The most telling evidence of the aircraft's impact with the ground was the discovery of deep gouges on the surfaces of these rocks.
The gouges also showed the direction of travel which was consistent to the travel of debris down to the bottom of the ravine. The aircraft began to severely break apart at this point.
THE DEBRIS FIELD
The remnants of the aircraft's aft baggage compartment bulkhead.
The placard riveted to the panel tells me that this was part of the aft fuselage baggage compartment.
From the bottom of the ravine I noticed a trail of wreckage that extended up the southern slope.
Some of the fragments still had evidence of the aircraft's red, white and black paint scheme.
I noticed that a few seat frames were present at the site, but not all of the seats were located. It appears the missing seats were most likely salvaged.
Some seat frame fragments had the seat belt webbing attached to their mounts.
Photographed is a seat frame and belt from either the front left pilot seat or the front right co-pilot/passenger seat.
A passenger seat belt buckle and strap shows very little damage from the crash.
Most of the seat frame fragments I located were broken parts of the seat's tubing frame structure.
The back portion of a seat frame lies amid other debris at the crash site.
Cabin air vent placard.
Neither of the Continental TSIO-520-VB engines were located at the site as they were most likely removed in 1971 by the accident investigators. I did however find small fragments of the engines such as this piston valve cover.
This engine spark plug still had a portion of the ignition lead wire attached.
These two fragments of cockpit window frame were located close together in the debris field.
A portion of the fragment in my left hand is the windshield center post which can be seen in the photo below.
This crumpled forward fuselage fragment was once part of the overhead interior panel found in the cockpit. It not only contained air vents, but also switches and knobs for cabin lighting.
The overhead air vent and lighting panel on a Cessna 402.
The crash site was scattered with many unidentifiable small fragments of wreckage, but there was no mistaking this piece of the pilot's flight instrument panel. This panel once contained the critical flight instruments that should have helped Captain Leeth prevent the accident.
Examination of this panel also revealed that an autopilot system was not installed due to the circular covers placed over the autopilot selector switches on the upper left side of the panel.
Captain Leeth was attempting, but was unsuccessful at "hand-flying" his way out of the bad weather.
All that remains of the aircraft's emergency electrical panel.
This was the only flight instrument located at the crash site. The Turn and Slip Indicator assisted the pilot in making coordinated turns.
The front or display portion of the instrument was torn away in the crash, but the crumpled outer casing remains.
These fragments of plastic were once part of the flight control trim wheels that operated both elevator and rudder trim.
