Cessna A185F accident near Blanding, UT
On April 25, 2012, a Cessna A185F (airplane) was involved in an accident near Blanding, UT. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- April 25, 2012
- Place
- Blanding, UT
- Aircraft
- Cessna A185F · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 37.812°N, 110.066°W
- NTSB ID
- 20120426X74830
Official records · WPR12FA184
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On April 25, 2012, about 1540 mountain daylight time, a Cessna A185F, N243W, collided with terrain in the Dark Canyon Wilderness area near Blanding, Utah. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The certificated flight instructor (CFI), private pilot/owner, and private pilot rated passenger were fatally injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage during the accident sequence, and was consumed by post impact fire. The cross-country personal flight departed from a backcountry airstrip known as Hidden Splendor about 1450, with a presumed destination of Carbon County Regional Airport/Buck Davis Field, Price, Utah. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The NTSB investigator traveled in support of this investigation, and performed an examination of the engine and airframe both on scene and following recovery. The airplane departed Price about 0700, with the airplane's owner, his father, and the CFI, who was the Chief Pilot for the fixed base operator, Arrow West Aviation, Inc. (doing business as Redtail Aviation). According to friends of the CFI, he had extensive experience flying in the canyon areas of Southern Utah, and as such, was approached by the airplane's owner to act as a guide to navigate the local terrain and scenery. The wife of the passenger stated that they were concerned about flying in mountainous terrain, and did not feel happy doing so without an experienced pilot, and that after performing some research
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control during low-level maneuvering flight. Contributing to the pilot’s death was the lack of a timely emergency rescue response due to the lack of effective emergency signal transmissions from both the airplane’s emergency locator transmitter and the personal locator device, which were both ejected from the wreckage.
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Browse: Utah · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
