Sept. 2, 2017
The pilot, who had no mountain flying instruction, planned to fly a friend’s newly purchased airplane from Idaho to Georgia. After he took delivery of the airplane at one airport in Idaho, he departed in the airplane for an airstrip situated about 38 miles to the northeast, at an elevation about 5,800 feet above mean sea level (MSL). The aeronautical chart of the region depicted mountainous terrain between the two airports, with peaks ranging from about 6,700 to 8,700 feet MSL.
While en route, the pilot entered a canyon and realized that the airplane was unable to outclimb the rising terrain. The pilot began a course reversal turn to escape the canyon, but during the turn, the airplane experienced an aerodynamic stall and impacted the ground.
The pilot’s preparations for the flight were minimal, and he did not explicitly plan out the flight route or altitudes to ensure sufficient terrain clearance margins. The pilot did not reside in mountainous terrain, and had not taken any mountain flying training courses. The pilot did not have or use any paper charts before or during the flight and did not program his intended flight route into his GPS device, which was equipped with a terrain database and terrain display and warning capability.
Prior to the accident, the pilot had only accrued about one hour in the accident airplane make and model.
The worn weary phrase “what could possibly go wrong?” quickly comes to mind.
I also like the “all holes, no cheese” expression.
The airplane has a o-320 engine. With two people aboard and with almost full fuel, it was not a surprise the airplane had trouble with climb.
At what point does this event not rise to the point of “negligent homicide” on the part of the pilot? It’s really hard for me to read all the background material on this event and consider it an “accident”.
Stupid Pilot Tricks 101. Airplanes don’t kill pilots, pilots kill airplanes.