DEN04FA002

The student pilot contacted the flight service station (FSS) and requested a weather briefing. He then filed a visual flight rules flight plan with a proposed takeoff time of 1200, and a flight time en route of 3 hours and 15 minutes. FSS reported the student pilot never activated the flight plan. Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) radar picked up the airplane as a primary target over Lake Powell, on the Arizona - Utah border. The airplane was tracked on a straight line, flight path toward Provo. Approaching the Boulder Mountains, the airplane turned west toward high terrain. The radar data showed the airplane make three consecutive 360-degree left turns within a 1/2-mile area before radar contact was lost. Concerned family members began looking for the student pilot and passenger when the airplane did not arrive. The airplane was located by a search and rescue unit the following day. An examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies. Approximately 30 minutes prior to the accident, the weather reporting station at Bryce Canyon, Utah (BCE), 41 miles southwest of the accident site, reported scattered clouds at 3,600 feet; ceiling 4,600 feet overcast; 10 miles visibility; light rain; temperature 46 degrees Fahrenheit (F); dew point 39 degrees F; and altimeter 30.13. A witness described the weather in the area as overcast skies and cool temperatures throughout the day. He reported there were low clouds and what looked like precipitation over the accident site. Pilot records showed the student pilot was approved for solo cross-country flight. The records also showed the student pilot having 44.6 total flying hours. There was no record of instrument training. The student pilot's instructor said he had received instruction for flight with reference to instruments. FAA toxicology revealed the presence of Dextromethorphan, Doxylamine, Phenylpropanolamine, and Pseudophedrine in urine and liver. Dextrophan and Ephedrine were also detected in urine.

History of flight

On October 3, 2003, at 1524 mountain daylight time (mdt), a Piper PA-28-180, N7357W, was destroyed when it impacted the top of a mountain 11 miles southeast of Teasdale, Utah. The student pilot and passenger on board the airplane were fatally injured. The airplane was reported missing at 2145. It was located on October 4, 2003, at 1425. The personal, cross-country flight from Holbrook, Arizona, to Provo, Utah, was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. Marginal visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.

The student pilot contacted the Prescott, Arizona, Flight Service Station (FSS) at 1116 mountain standard time (1216 mdt) and requested a weather briefing. The student pilot then filed a visual flight rules flight plan with a proposed takeoff time of 1200, and a flight time en route of 3 hours and 15 minutes. The student pilot informed Prescott FSS that he was the only person on board the airplane. Prescott FSS reported the student pilot never activated the flight plan.

A computer-generated flight plan sheet recovered from the accident airplane showed the student pilot proposed to take off at 1155 mountain standard time. The flight plan showed the student pilot planned an en route altitude of 12, 500 feet, and an estimated time en route of 3 hours and 11 minutes.

At approximately 1520, a pilot flying a Cessna T210, in the vicinity of Joe's Valley Reservoir, approximately 67 miles north of the accident site, requested a pilot report (PIREP). The pilot of the Cessna said he received a response from an airplane whose pilot said he was out of Arizona, en route to Redmond, Utah. The Cessna pilot said the pilot told him they had passed Bullfrog Basin and were through the Boulder Mountains. The pilot told the Cessna pilot that the weather in that area was "bad to the ground". The Cessna pilot said that the pilot giving him the PIREP didn't seem hesitant to fly into the weather.

At 1344:35, Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) radar picked up the airplane as a primary target over Lake Powell, on the Arizona - Utah border. The airplane was tracked on a straight line, flight path toward Provo. Approaching the Boulder Mountains, the airplane turned west toward high terrain. Denver ARTCC radar data showed the airplane make three consecutive 360-degree left turns within a 1/2-mile area before radar contact was lost at 1524:02. When radar contact was lost, the airplane was at latitude 38 degrees 06.98 minutes north and longitude 111 degrees 25.70 minutes west.

Concerned family members began looking for the student pilot and passenger when the airplane did not arrive. An alert notification was issued at 2145 mountain daylight time and a search for the airplane commenced. The airplane was located the following day by a search and rescue unit from the Wayne County, Utah, Sheriff Department.

Personnel information

The student pilot held a third class medical and student pilot certificate dated September 2, 2003. The certificate held the following limitation: Holder must wear corrective lenses.

According to his logbook, the student pilot was approved for solo cross-country flight from Holbrook to Provo, on September 17, 2003. According to his flight instructor, the route of flight the student pilot was approved for was Holbrook to Kayenta [Arizona], to Hite [Utah], to Hanksville [Utah], to Price [Utah], then into Provo.

The student pilot's logbook showed that as of September 20, 2003, he had 44.6 total flying hours. All of the student pilot's time was in the accident airplane. The logbook showed no record of instrument instruction.

According to his flight instructor, the student pilot had received instruction for flight with reference to instruments. The instructor pilot stated that he purposely flew the student at night so that the student would have to rely on his flight instruments. The instructor pilot said he taught the student pilot what to do if he encountered bad weather and how to perform "90-270 degree heading turns" to reverse course when encountering weather.

Aircraft information

The airplane, serial number 28-1237, was manufactured in 1963 and owned by the student pilot. The airplane was used for the student pilot's training. The airplane's current registration was dated August 25, 2003.

According to the airplane's logbooks, the airplane underwent an annual inspection on November 17, 2002. The total airframe time recorded at the annual inspection was 2,459.9 hours. This was the last entry recorded in the logbook.

Meteorological information

At 1453, the weather reporting station at Bryce Canyon, Utah (BCE), 41 miles southwest of the accident site, reported winds 340 degrees at 4 knots; scattered clouds at 3,600 feet; ceiling 4,600 feet overcast; 10 miles visibility; light rain; temperature 46 degrees Fahrenheit (F); dew point 39 degrees F; and altimeter 30.13.

At 1116 pacific daylight time, the student pilot received a weather briefing from the Prescott Flight Service Station. The briefer told the student pilot that Hanksville, Utah, was reporting 7,000 feet overcast, 50 miles visibility, and calm winds. The briefer informed the student pilot of flight obscuration and a thunderstorm advisory for his route of flight. He told the student pilot there were no significant winds along his route of flight. The briefer informed the student pilot of radar reports of convective activity east of his route of flight. He also informed the student pilot of an Air Route Traffic Control Center weather advisory for thunderstorms, tops at flight level 320 for northeast Arizona and northwest New Mexico. The Prescott FSS Quality Assurance Supervisor said that following the briefing the student pilot commented, "It looks like a good VFR day. Well, maybe an average VFR day."

A Garfield County, Utah, Sheriff deputy described the weather in the Boulder, Utah area, approximately 10 miles south of the accident site, as overcast skies and cool temperatures throughout the day. He reported there were low clouds and what looked like precipitation occurring over Boulder Mountain.

Wreckage and impact information

The National Transportation Safety Board's on scene investigation began on October 5, 2003, at 1530.

The accident site was located in an open area of mountain tundra surrounded by spruce trees at the top of the Boulder Mountains, elevation 11, 354 feet, at latitude 38 degrees 06.977 minutes north and longitude 111 degrees 25.766 minutes west. The site was also located approximately 1/2 mile north of an east-west running jeep trail.

The accident site consisted of the airplane main wreckage and a debris field that ran north and east of the wreckage.

The accident site began with an impact crater that was due east of the airplane wreckage. The crater was approximately 4 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 12 inches at its deepest point, near its center. The crater contained aeronautical charts, white paint chips, engine components, and portions of broken fiberglass from the engine cowling.

The airplane main wreckage rested on the west edge of the impact crater. The main wreckage consisted of the airplane's engine, propeller, nose gear, cabin, wings, main landing gear, fuselage and empennage.

The propeller was broken torsionally at the crankshaft just aft of the flange. The spinner was crushed aft, twisted counterclockwise, and broken. One propeller blade, blade "A," showed torsional bending and chordwise scratches near the blade tip. Several gouges were observed in the front face of the blade near mid span, and along the leading edge. Blade "B" was bent torsionally, showed chordwise scratches and gouges, and was broken aft approximately 12 inches inboard of the blade tip.

The bottom engine cowling was crushed upward, broken aft, and fragmented.