Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Oakley, Utah 84055
Friday, November 10, 1989 11:00 MST

THE PLT & PAX INTENDED TO LOOK OVR PROPERTY & LOOK FOR MOOSE. THE PLT RPRTD THEY FLEW UP & DOWN SVRL CANYONS AT ALTS BTN8000 & 10,000 FT MSL. SHORTLY AFTER ENTERING A 45 DEG BANK TURN FOR A 2ND PASS OVER AN AREA, THE PLT HEARD A 'MUFFLED POP' THAT HE BELIEVED HAD COME FROM THE FWD PART OF THE ACFT. HE SAID HE NOTED A FLUCTUATION OF THE MANIFOLD PRESSURE & BELIEVED HE HAD AN ENG PRBLM. AT ABOUT THAT TIME, THE ACFT HIT TREES & CRASHED ON SNOW COVERED TERRAIN. DENSITY ALTITUDEWAS APRX 11,000 FT. THE REAR SEAT PASSENGER (WITH ONLY MINOR INJURIES) WALKED 6 MI FOR HELP. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE INITIAL IMPACT OCCURRED WHEN THE RIGHT HORIZONTAL STABILIZER HIT A TREE AT APRX 35 FT AGL & 460 FT FROM THE FINAL RESTING PLACE. THE ACFT THEN FLEW APRX 300 FT, WHERE THE LEFT WING TIP HIT A 2ND TREE. BEYOND THE 2ND TREE, THE PROP HAD SEVERED NUMEROUS TREE BRANCHES. THE REAR SEAT PASSENGER STATED THE ACFT WAS CIRCLING AT LOW ALT; SHE DIDN'T HEAR ANY CHANGE IN ENG SOUND, BUT HEARD THE STALL WARNING JUST BFR CRASHING. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE/MALFUNCTION WAS FND.

THE PILOT DIVERTED HIS ATTENTION, MISJUDGED HIS ALTITUDE AND FAILED TO MAINTAIN CLEARANCE ABOVE THE TREES, WHILE MANEUVERING AT LOW ALTITUDE OVER MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN, HIGH DENSITY ALTITUDE, LOW AIRSPEED, AND TREES WERE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS.