1983 — Aug 17, Las Vegas Airlines Flight 88 flies into mountain, Grand Canyon, AZ– 10

— 10  AP. “10 dead on remote ledge in Grand Canyon crash.” Syracuse Herald. 8-19-1983, A3.

— 10  Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. “ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 37219.”

— 10  NTSB. “NTSB Identification: DCA83AA034.” Washington, DC: No date.

 

Narrative Information

 

Aviation Safety Network Narrative: “A combination of low clouds and poor visibility were the major factors in the tragic mishap that claimed Las Vegas Airlines (LVA) Flight 88. The scheduled air tour, along with a flight of four other Las Vegas Airlines aircraft originated from the North Las Vegas Airport (KVGT) on the morning of August 17, 1983. The final destination for the flight was Grand Canyon National Park Airport (KGCN).

 

“In command of Flight 88 was Captain Wallace S. Gustafson Jr. Known by fellow pilots as “Gus”, Captain Gustafson was a retired fighter pilot with the United States Air Force and had well over 8,000 total flight hours. He was hired by Las Vegas Airlines on April 16, 1980. A family of nine vacationing tourists from Italy made up Flight 88’s passenger manifest.

 

“The flight departed on a cloudy/rainy day at 11:42 AM and proceeded eastbound over Hoover Dam and Lake Mead to the western boundary of the Grand Canyon. At this point, most of the Las Vegas Airlines aircraft in the flight began climbing over the Shivwits Plateau to avoid the deteriorating weather conditions. For reasons unclear, Captain Gustafson decided to fly through the canyon and below the overcast. During this time he was relaying his position by radio using radials off of the Peach Springs VORTAC navigation station.

 

“Flying low through the canyon, the flight encountered what other pilots in the area would later describe as a “wall of clouds” that went to ground level. With visibility decreasing, Captain Gustafson may have become confused with his precise location within the canyon. It was later speculated by other tour pilots and the NTSB that Captain Gustafson may have thought he was in the area known as “Twin Peaks” which was six miles to the north and clear of rising terrain. At around 12:27 PM, Captain Gustafson made a final radio call to the other company aircraft; “It’s getting too bad in here, I’m getting out”.

 

“Attempts were made to contact the flight by another company aircraft were unsuccessful. The four remaining Las Vegas Airlines aircraft completed their sightseeing flights by proceeding over the Shivwits Plateau just north of Mt. Dellenbaugh. When it was clear that Flight 88 had not made it to Grand Canyon Airport nor had returned to North Las Vegas Airport, a missing aircraft alert was issued to try and locate Flight 88. With bad weather hampering the search, it was not until noon the following day when two company pilots flying a search mission found the scattered wreckage of Flight 88 on the southwest slope of a remote mesa within the Grand Canyon. There were no survivors.

 

“The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that it was too much of a risk to conduct an on-site investigation of this accident. The official accident investigation was made possible through a series of photographs taken by investigators as they hovered by helicopter near the crash site. A majority of the scattered human remains were removed by Coconino County Sheriff Deputies and volunteers from the Hualapai Tribe who rappelled down the cliff face.”

 

Newspaper

 

Aug 19, Associated Press: “Las Vegas, Nev. (AP) — Helicopters and alpine crews will be needed to reach the bodies of a pilot and nine Italian tourists killed when their sightseeing plane slammed into a mountain during a flight through storm-shrouded Grand Canyon. The grim task of removing bodies and wreckage from a plateau facing the canyon was to begin today, with crews rappelling down from helicopters or the face of the 5,800-foot Arizona mountain 110 miles east of Las Vegas.

 

“Las Vegan Airlines Flight 88, its pilot attempting to dodge thunderstorms that blanketed the canyon, flew into the mountain about noon Wednesday. The charred debris was found 24 hours later by another of the airline’s pilots. A helicopter and paramedics who flew to the scene said there were no survivors. ‘It’s a wonder they even spotted the wreckage,’ said photographer Rene Germanier, who flew over the scene. ‘There was just nothing there. The biggest piece of the plane was a small section of the tail.’ ‘It looks like it ran head-on into the mountain near the 5,800 -foot level,’ said Earl Leseberg, owner of Lake Mead Airlines….

 

“Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Anderson said the plane struck 75 feet below the rim of the 5,800-foot mountain, and the debris came to rest 50 feet below the point of impact.” (Associated Press. “10 dead on remote ledge in Grand Canyon crash.” Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. 8-19-1983, A3.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “10 dead on remote ledge in Grand Canyon crash.” Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. 8-19-1983, A3. Accessed 4-11-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-herald-journal-aug-19-1983-p-3/?tag

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. “ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 37219.” Added 10-24-2008; updated 6-14-2015 and 12-27-2016. Accessed 3-11-2017 at: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=37219

 

National Transportation Safety Board. “NTSB Identification: DCA83AA034.” Washington, DC: NTSB, No date. Accessed 4-11-2017 at: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001214X44099&key=1