September 27, 1989: Grand Canyon Airlines, Inc., deHavilland DHC-6 (N75GC) Grand Canyon, AZ
The cold snap of a Fall morning was in the air marking the end of a long and successful air tour season for Grand Canyon Airlines (GCA), but this change in weather still didn't stop the late-season tour groups from wanting a birds-eye glimpse into the world famous gorge. Normally, the veteran air tour company was slowing it's pace as it prepared for another long Arizona winter, but 1989 was an unusually busy year for tourism and the buses kept coming. Tauck World Discovery Tours was no exception and a group of 37 retired and elderly vacationers eagerly waited in line to purchase tickets for the aerial sightseeing tour of a lifetime.
In command of VistaLiner "N75GC" was Captain William H. Welch. Captain Welch age 47, had been with GCA since April 1986 and accumulated a total of 4,120 hours of flight experience of which 2,610 hours had been in the Otters. Captain Welch was also a company instructor and a proficiency check pilot as well. His experience level overshadowed many pilots in the airline, but none more so than his First Officer Keith K. Crosson, age 43. This was Crosson's first season with GCA having been employed on June 12, 1989. Crosson had a total of 1,309 flight hours, but only 339 hours of that flight time was in the Otter.
With its payload of 19 passengers seated and belted in, the deHavilland Twin Otter known by the call sign "Canyon 5" departed at 9:00 AM for the canyon. According to surviving passengers, the flight was uneventful as Captain Welch narrated the tour to the passengers and First Officer Crosson piloted the turbo-prop across the mile deep gorge. At 9:48 AM, controllers at Grand Canyon National Park Airport cleared "Canyon 5" to land on runway 21.
Captain Kevin Girrard of America West Airlines was holding short of runway 21 in a deHavilland Dash 8 when he noticed "Canyon 5" on final approach. "The approach appeared to be normal, but then there was this cloud of dust" said Girrard. Tower Manager Bob Evans in the control tower had a better view as he noticed "Canyon 5" bounce and then veer to the right side of the runway in a cloud of red dirt while scraping the right wing along the ground. Suddenly the plane's nose rose up sharply and for a moment Evans thought the tour plane might actually hit the control tower itself. Banking left, the plane continued to climb past the tower, but began to enter a rolling left turn. Climbing to an altitude of about 200 feet, Evans could see a crash was imminent and without hesitation he pressed the red crash alarm button. For less than two seconds the alarm sounded throughout the airport, but was suddenly silenced as the left wing of Otter cut through an electrical cable that supplied power to the airport. Both wings separated from the Otter as it cartwheeled into the treeline about 1,200 feet east of the runway. The remains of Canyon 5's fuselage came to rest on it's left side. Fortunately there was no fire or the accident would have been much worse. The toll was still devastating as the occupants of Canyon 5 were either dead, dying or injured.
An agonizing 10 minutes passed before the tower was able to establish communications with the airport's Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) crew. The emergency response was slow and dis-organized with the first responders arriving at the accident scene just after 10:00 AM and mistakenly leaving critical first aid equipment at the fire station. It was not long before multiple emergency agencies began to arrive offering their services to the injured. In all, both pilots and 8 passengers were killed. 9 passengers received serious injuries and two passengers received minor injuries.
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HISTORICAL SUMMARY:
The accident site of "Canyon 5" lies just outside of the airport property boundary. The site consists of very small fragments of metal, plastic, and window Plexiglas. Although considered a micro-site in the aviation archaeology community, the site serves as a frequented memorial to those who lost friends and loved ones in the accident.
For many years, the main wreckage of "Canyon 5" was placed in open storage at Grand Canyon Valle Airport (40G). Well hidden from curious tourist eyes, the wreckage was property of GCA owner John Siebold for many years until it was sold to R.W. Martin, Inc. in December 2008 for scrap and rebuild purposes. While in storage at Valle, I was given the rare opportunity to photograph the wreckage of "Canyon 5".
The V-Speed reference card was used by the crew to determine takeoff and approach speeds based on air temperature and aircraft weight.
Today, a flip card is used to determine these values in the VistaLiner.
Unique to the Twin Otter designed aircraft is that the power, propeller, and fuel levers are all located on an overhead panel.
Here we see the overhead panel ripped from its mounts and connected by only a few cables.
This flap lever on approach would have been set to the full (37.5 degree) position. During the go-around on the accident flight the lever was found to be re-positioned to 10 degrees.
The aircraft trim controls are located near the captain's seat next to the right armrest.
Evidence of an abrupt twisting forward impact is illustrated in this photo of the rudder pedals on Captain Welch's side. The right pedal almost completely crushed through the floor while the chair he was sitting in was pushed far left.
The guarded switches on the lower left side of the instrument panel are still intact while the audio panel is completely destroyed.
The parking brake handle.
Aside from the opening in the forward upper cabin ceiling made by rescue workers, the structural integrity of the cabin remained surprisingly intact.
Most of the passenger fatalities were the result of passenger seat mounts that failed on their tracks.
The aft main cabin door of "Canyon 5" lies on top of one of the wing support struts.
Both wing assemblies minus the wing flaps and flight controls rest next to the fuselage of "Canyon 5".
The vertical stabilizer with a large number "5" at the the top was also positioned next to the fuselage. Complete except for the missing rudder control surface.
The rudder probably had minimal damage and may have been salvaged as a repairable aircraft part.
A destroyed engine nacelle painted with the airline titles and aircraft name sits amid other debris.
Near the aft section of the fuselage I located the aircraft data placard which is required on all U.S. civilian aircraft. This placard is different than the original aircraft manufacture's placard located in the aft baggage compartment.
The wings of "Canyon 5" await a flat bed truck in Valle, Arizona that will take them to R.W. Martin, Inc. in Murrieta, California.
A NEW HOME FOR "CANYON 5".
In storage amid other wrecked Twin Otters, "Canyon 5" was essentially "buried" where it was "born". During 1987, the Twin Otter known as "Canyon 5" was modified to a VistaLiner by R.W. Martin, Inc. here at their facility in Southern California.
The plane will eventually be salvaged for parts to be used on other deHavilland Twin Otter aircraft.
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