AOPA Air Safety Institute Releases Accident Case Study on Deadly Utah Backcountry Crash

On April 25, 2012, a 28-year-old pilot from Texas and his father set out to explore remote airstrips across southeastern Utah in a 1979 Cessna 185 Skywagon. They hired a local flight instructor who was familiar with the area's rugged terrain to serve as their guide.

That afternoon, the airplane crashed about a mile south of an abandoned airstrip. The National Transportation Safety Board later determined the probable cause to be the pilot's "failure to maintain aircraft control during low-level maneuvering flight."

The pilots carried three locator devices, but two were disabled in the crash and the third did not send a distress signal, so authorities weren't alerted for hours. Once rescuers reached the crash site more than 10 hours later, they found signs one pilot survived the initial impact.

"These pilots did almost everything right," said ASI Senior Vice President Mike Ginter. "They hired an instructor who knew the area, and in addition to the required emergency locator transmitter, they carried two personal locator beacons in the aircraft, but they did not wear them. This accident teaches us to wear our survival gear and to know and respect high density altitude and its impact on aircraft performance. It also reminds us how dangerous it is to fly in the backcountry in high winds."

ASI Accident Case Studies use FAA records, NTSB documentation, and video animation to recreate the chain of events that led to an accident and help pilots recognize and avoid similar mistakes.

“Death Near Dark Canyon” is sponsored by Sporty's and is available here.