# NTSB DEN07LA145: Adams Airborne Australia O, N7068U, Taos, NM, August 26, 2007 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 25, 2007, 19:40 local (Aug 26, 2007, 01:40 UTC) - Place: Taos, NM - Coordinates: 36.341667, -104.733329 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.3417&lon=-104.7333&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed, report December 20, 2007 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 66513 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN07LA145 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/66513/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=66513 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN07LA145 ## Probable cause The pilot's intentional low altitude flight in a confined area and an inadvertent stall/spin. Contributing factors in this accident were the blind/box canyon and the aircraft's low airspeed. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, maneuvering - turn to reverse direction - low altitude flight/maneuver - intentional, pilot in command (cause) - stall/spin - inadvertent, pilot in command (cause) - airspeed - low (contributing factor) - terrain condition - blind/box canyon (contributing factor) - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled - terrain condition - ravine ## Analysis Several hikers saw the airplane fly past them at low altitude and into a gorge. They videotaped the pilot waving at them. They said the airplane disappeared below the lip of the gorge, and then they heard the sound of impact. Several hikers climbed down the canyon wall and proceeded to the wreckage while others notified authorities. The accident site was approximately 300 feet above the canyon floor. Examination of the airplane revealed it was either turning or spinning at the moment of impact. Flight control continuity was established and no systems anomalies were noted. Another pilot said he noticed mountain wave-type winds in that area of the canyon, making turbulence likely. The accident pilot had flown in the canyon before, and was known to fly at low airspeeds and altitudes. The pilot had been warned by other pilots that it was not safe to fly in the canyon in a light aircraft. ## Factual narrative On August 25, 2007, approximately 1940 mountain daylight time, an Adams' Airborne Australia Outback Wizard 3, N7068U, piloted by a non-certificated pilot, was destroyed when it struck a canyon wall while maneuvering on the west side of the Rio Pueblo Canyon, nine mile southwest of Taos, New Mexico. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot, the sole occupant aboard, was fatally injured. The local flight originated from the pilot's private airstrip near Taos at an undetermined time. An FAA Aviation Safety Inspector went to the accident site. According to his report (FAA Form 8020-23), the airplane flew past some hikers in the Taos Gorge at low altitude and they videotaped the pilot waving at them. They said the airplane disappeared below the lip of the gorge, and then they heard the sound of impact. Several hikers climbed down the canyon wall and proceeded to the wreckage while others notified authorities. The accident site was at the end of County Road 110, approximately 300 feet above the canyon floor. The inspector said his examination of the airplane revealed it was either turning or spinning at the moment of impact. Flight control continuity was established and no systems anomalies were noted. The FAA inspector's report indicated the pilot had been warned by other pilots that it was not safe to fly in the canyon in a light aircraft. Another pilot said he noticed mountain wave-type winds in that area of the canyon, making turbulence likely. The accident pilot had flown in the canyon before, and was known to fly at low airspeeds and altitudes. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N7068U](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7068U-2017-06-19), registration cancelled 2017-06-19, S/N 582-961, built 2004 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Adams Airborne Australia O - Registry model: [Adams Paul R AIRBORNE OUTBACK WIZ](https://openairdocs.org/model/adams-paul-r-airborne-outback-wiz) (registry code 05902X6) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Rotax 582SER](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-582ser) (registry code 55556, 2 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 582-691 - Airframe hours: 111 - Engines: Rotax 582DC 65 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Paul R. Adams - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: NONE, Taos, NM - Destination: NONE ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 71; injuries: fatal; seat: front; toxicology performed; flight hours: 100 total, 100 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 230° at 10 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 79 °F, dew point 34 °F - Altimeter: 30.19 inHg - Observed at: SKX ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20070825018099A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20070825018099A), Aug 25, 2007: Airbau OUTBACKWIZ, Ranchos De Tao, NM, Destroyed, 1 fatal. (-23) On August 25, 2007, at 1940 MDT, an outback wizard, N7068U, registered to the pilot, impacted terrain inside the rio pueblo canyon at the end of taos… ## Docket (8 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 8, 2007, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=66513. 5.5 MB in all. - FAA Form 8020-23, FAA Accident Report (item 1, .PDF, 192 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40283334&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=FAA%20Form%208020-23,%20FAA%20Accident%20Report-Redacted.PDF - FAA Inspector's Statement (item 2, .PDF, 392 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40283335&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=FAA%20Inspector%27s%20Statement-Redacted.PDF - Map of Accident Area (item 3, .PDF, 1.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40283336&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Map%20of%20Accident%20Area-Master.PDF - Weather Reports and Records (item 4, .PDF, 22 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40283337&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Weather%20Reports%20and%20Records-Master.PDF - New Mexico State Police Incident Report (item 5, .PDF, 487 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40452925&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=New%20Mexico%20State%20Police%20Incident%20Report-Master.PDF - Photo 1. Looking down into the Rio Pueblo Canyon. (item 6, .PDF, 1.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40283339&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201.%20%20Looking%20down%20into%20the%20Rio%20Pueblo%20Canyon.-Master.PDF - Photo 2. A wall of the Rio Pueblo Canyon, near Taos, New Mexico. (item 7, .PDF, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40283340&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%202.%20%20A%20wall%20of%20the%20Rio%20Pueblo%20Canyon,%20near%20Taos,%20New%20Mexico.-Master.PDF - Photo 3. Looking down at the wreckage and the gorge below. (item 8, .PDF, 1.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40283341&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%203.%20%20Looking%20down%20at%20the%20wreckage%20and%20the%20gorge%20below.-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.