The pilot rented the Diamond DA-40 with the intent to fly a multi-leg cross-county flight from his home base of Spanish Fork Municipal Airport/Woodhouse Field (KSPK) in Utah with three passengers.
The planned route of flight comprised stops at Cedar City Regional Airport (KCDC) and four other airports before returning to SPK.
The airplane departed KSPK on the first leg with about 40 gallons of fuel.
Recorded airport surveillance video at KCDC showed that the airplane landed at 1615 and taxied to the self-serve fuel pumps. The pilot and passengers disembarked, and the pilot refueled the airplane, adding about 14 gallons of fuel.
The pilot and passengers boarded the airplane for the next destination, Bryce Canyon Airport (KBCE) in Utah, and taxied toward the runway.
A pilot-rated witness, who was driving westbound down Cedar Canyon, reported that he observed the airplane flying up the canyon and over the river at an altitude of about 300 feet above ground level (AGL).
The witness stated that as the airplane was about to pass over his position, it turned left and then right, and its maneuvers were “quick” and “like a rocking motion.”
The witness added that the propeller appeared to be under power and not windmilling.
Another witness reported that he observed the airplane flying on an easterly heading over the highway at an altitude of about 200 to 300 feet AGL. The witness stated that, other than being low, the airplane did not appear to be in distress. The witness also stated that his vehicle’s windows were up, so he could not hear the airplane’s engine.
After the airplane passed over the witness’ position, he looked in the mirror and saw the airplane “bank really hard to the south, back across the highway” as if the airplane “were trying to turn around in the narrow canyon.”
The witness added that, at that point, the airplane’s wings were “almost completely vertical” and that the airplane “didn’t look like it had enough speed to pull off that maneuver.”
The airplane hit mountainous terrain along the southern edge of the canyon about seven miles southeast of KCDC. A post-crash fire ensued.
The pilot and three passengers died in the crash.
The weight of the airplane at the time of departure from KCDC was estimated to be about 128 pounds over the maximum gross weight (2,646 pounds). The airplane’s center of gravity (CG) was calculated using the passenger and seat locations in the most favorable position and was found to be outside of the manufacturer’s approved CG envelope.
According to the performance information in the DA-40 Airplane Flight Manual and the assumed altitude and air density conditions, the airplane’s climb performance would have been about 300 feet per minute.
The calculated density altitude at the time of departure was about 6,022 feet. The calculated density altitude at the accident location and the time of the accident was 7,203 feet.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain obstacle clearance, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to operate the airplane above its maximum gross weight.
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This April 2022 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Lessons to be learned:
* Before flying in the Rockies, get some training in mountain flying so you truly understand the performance degredation a non-turbo charged engine suffers.
* Use IFR charts. They will tell you the min in route altitude per segment.
* Study the climb performance for your aircraft, you may find it requires using 1 notch of flaps (e.g. Cherokee-6 300). You may also find you will have to spend time circling up to get to the minimum altitude for the victor airway. If you can’t get above 50′ min climb, you are basically at your service ceiling for that weight on that day.
‘ Study the climb performance for your aircraft, you may find it requires using 1 notch of flaps (e.g. Cherokee-6 300 )’
Does this apply to en-route climbs , or just short field takeoffs/ obstacles to be cleared at the far end ? Would it be recommended on this model to make a close MCA on an airway?
I always thought airplanes climbed and cruised en-route most efficiently ,clean. Of course, if maneuvering in confining terrain such as a canyon might require a 180 then,yes,some flap would probably be advisable , but solely to reduce turning radius. It would be deleterious to climb rate or angle, as far as I know.
I agree. For example, for a C172R, the short-field takeoff with 10° flaps has a lower rotation speed to get airborne and climbing sooner. That will apparently result in the best clearance from a 50′ obstacle even though it degrades the climb. However, for an enroute climb where an obstruction dictates the use of a steep climb angle, it says “the best angle-of-climb speed should be used with flaps up and maximum power”.
The Cherokee-6 300 (PA32-300) has a climb chart and instruction to use the first notch of flaps from sea level to 11000 DA. If fully loaded, use second notch to get airborne and then go to 10 degrees (first notch). Of all the planes I have flown to this point, the Six is the only one I KNOW that has this requirement in its AIM (POH).
It appears the pilot was unfamiliar with the local terrain and was not aware he was flying up a canyon.
The density altitude and being over gross weight severely degraded the aircrafts performance.
I have taken off at a density altitude of 9000 feet at Big Bear airport in California and being nowhere near gross weight in a 172. The climb rate was 100 ft/min. So I’m guessing this guy discovered he wasn’t going to clear the ridge of the canyon and made an attempt to do a 180 turn which ended in disaster.
Yes – if you can drag a satellite map up that canyon with a pilot’s eye viewing angle, it looks fairly easy at the beginning but then gets much steeper and much more narrow, leading to an almost certain inescapable trap given the probable low climb performance of the airplane.
The white scarf, goggles and leather skull cap live on. Let’s all pile-in to the old Chevy and head to Shoneys for breakfast. You don’t worry about weight limit and CG in a car, why think about those things in an airplane? RIP, folks.
Regards/J