El Paso - El Paso

On November 10, 2010 at 11:00 AM, El Paso - El Paso experienced a crash involving Partenavia P.68, operated by Texas Parks %26 Wildlife Department, with the event recorded near Anthony New Mexico.

The flight was categorized as survey / patrol / reconnaissance and the reported phase was flight at a mountains crash site.

3 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 3 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 1, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 2, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is weather. While performing a low-level law enforcement patrol flight, the pilot crossed a ridge and observed a parked vehicle. To investigate further, he lowered the flaps and descended to approximately 200 feet, into a canyon. The pilot made a second pass over the vehicle and initiated a right turn, during which the airplane encountered a tailwind that resulted in a rapid loss of airspeed and a descent. The pilot leveled the airplane and increased the power; however, the airplane was too slow and low to turn out of the canyon. As a result, the airplane stalled and impacted terrain. The pilot stated there were no preflight mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane.

Aircraft reference details include registration N44956, MSN 318-13/OB, year of manufacture 1983.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 32.0059°, -106.5969°.