November 22, 1995: General Aviation, Cessna 210L (N5138Q) Grand Canyon, AZ
Since the official opening of the Grand Canyon National Park Airport in 1967 there have been 6 fatal accidents attributed to pilots arriving or departing on dark moonless nights. The area around the airport is unique in that at night, all visual references to terrain and obstructions vanish and the all important horizon used for reference is gone.
Pilots have often referred to night flying around the canyon's airport as flying in a "Black Hole" or in the "Void of Space". A pilot's only answer to a safe flight is to totally rely on the aircraft flight instruments. The primary goal is to keep "the shiny side up and the dirty side down".
Jason Cook age 25, was a new pilot, having earned his private license the month prior he felt he was ready fly something faster than the slow Cessna 172 he had been renting. He decided to buy a Cessna 210 Centurion. The plane was fast and had a retractable landing gear. It also had an impressive array of flight instruments and avionics to keep an instrument rated pilot out of trouble. The problem was that Cook did not hold an instrument rating nor was he proficient to fly safely on instruments. The stage was set for disaster.
After spending the day at the Grand Canyon with his girlfriend Sondra Schuler age 23, friends drove both Cook and Schuler from his local pizza restaurant business (We-Cook-Pizza) to the airport. It was well past sunset and a friend asked Cook if he had any concerns about flying on such a dark night. Cook replied with overconfidence "It's no different than flying in the day".
At 8:00 PM, the Cessna departed runway 21 and as the aircraft began to climb Cook retracted the landing gear. Heading southbound, the "Black Hole" that doomed pilots before him suddenly filled the windscreen. Cook, trying desperately to find a reference point in the dark void began turning left and losing altitude. In a matter of a few seconds, the Cessna smashed to earth in a violent impact instantly killing both Cook and Schuler. The plane crashed only a half mile from the departure end of the runway.
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HISTORICAL SUMMARY:
The memorial site is located about one-half of a mile from the departure end of runway 21 and it's assumed based on the accident report and the small fragments of wreckage near the memorial that the accident site is very close if not at the location of the memorial.
The site itself has been altered due to people removing wreckage from the surrounding area and re-locating the fragments to the memorial site. A collection of wreckage debris is located near the crosses which makes defining the actual crash site dimensions difficult. Some debris collected and placed at the memorial is not from the accident aircraft, but from other unknown aircraft that had crashed in the same general area.
The memorial site is also a popular geo-cache location known as the "Cook-Schuler Memorial" and is visited frequently. I was a little concerned about the popularity and number of people that visit the site, but on my visits I have not noticed any direct vandalism or looting at the location.
AIRCRAFT INVOLVED
The Cessna 210L (N5138Q) was manufactured in 1975 and was purchased only a week before the accident by Jason Cook who earned his Private Pilot Certificate a month prior to the accident.
THE ACCIDENT
At around 8:00 PM, the aircraft departed runway 21 at Grand Canyon National Park Airport. The destination was Flagstaff, Arizona only a mere 30 minutes away.
The aircraft was in a descending left turn at takeoff power when it impacted the flat terrain just off the departure end of runway 21.
There were no witnesses to the accident and no flight plan had been filed. The only indication of an accident was the aircraft's emergency ELT beacon that activated at the time of the accident.
The wreckage was not located by Search and Rescue personnel until after 1:30 AM.
CRASH SITE OF N5138Q
The accident site consists of a clear gentle sloping terrain and is free of obstructions.
This photo of the site is looking towards the departure end of runway 21 and shows the Grand Canyon Airport in the backround.
The Cook-Schuler Memorial consists of two crosses bearing the names of Jason Cook and Sondra Schuler.
During my visit, I noticed the memorial crosses were not in the best condition and did my best to repair them.
At the base of the crosses is a collection of aircraft wreckage that was gathered by visitors or family members. Some of the debris was not consistent with parts and components from a Cessna 210 and was probably pieces from other accidents that have occurred in the same area.
An area roughly 50 feet in diameter surrounding the memorial contains additional smaller fragments that may be from the accident aircraft.
Some of the fragments in the collection pile were identifiable such as the trim wheel and forward windshield fragment.
Sondra Schuler age 23, was born on October 10, 1972. She was a 1994 graduate of Northern Arizona University and was a resident of Flagstaff, Arizona.
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