LAX07LA027

On November 01, 2006, about 0930 mountain standard time, an Air Creations Tanarg 912 unregistered aircraft, collided with a steep mountain side near Bisbee, Arizona. The pilot/owner was operating the unregistered aircraft under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a cross-country instructional flight. The airplane was destroyed. The pilot, who held a sport pilot certificate, and a student pilot sustained fatal injuries. The flight departed from Rodeo, New Mexico, about 0830, with a planned destination of Bisbee. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan had not been filed.

A National Transportation Safety Board investigator interviewed a pilot who was flying an ultralight in tandem with the accident aircraft. He stated that the accident pilot was providing instruction to the student pilot on the cross-country flight to Bisbee. The accident pilot maintained radio communication with him as they both traversed through the valleys that led to their intended destination. Throughout the flight, the radio signal was intermittent due to the contours of the terrain. While en route through the Starvation and Skeleton Valleys, the accident pilot made a radio call that indicated he was at the "4-o'clock" position behind the ultralight.

The ultralight pilot further stated that after egressing the valleys, he turned around to scan the surrounding area and could not obtain visual contact with the accident aircraft. He headed back up the valley and saw smoke behind a mountain ridge. He circled over the over the smoke and observed a small brush fire, but could not discern any aircraft structure. He continued on to Bisbee and attempted to locate the accident ultralight at the airport to no avail.

The ultralight pilot added that the winds at the time of the accident were calm and there was no turbulence or mountain wave in the areas they were flying.

Pilot information

A review of the airmen records maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) disclosed that the pilot held a sport pilot certificate. There was no record that he had ever applied for, or been granted, an FAA medical certificate.

No personal logbooks for the pilot were recovered. Friends of the pilot reported that he had been flight instructing in the accident aircraft.

Friends of the pilot provided a Safety Board investigator with paperwork found within his personal belongings. Some of those documents contained information regarding the accident pilot's experience. In an acceptance letter, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) indicated that the accident pilot was a registered member in the ultralight student registration program. Other documents indicated that pilot had completed an Aero Sports Connection (ASC) Basic Flight Instructor application, signed September 26, 2006. On the application, the pilot reported having amassed 65 hours total time in ultralight aircraft, of which 20 hours were with a flight instructor. The ASC had no record of the pilot, or having ever received the application.

Medical and pathological information

The Cochise County Office of the Medical Examiner, Sierra Vista, Arizona, completed an autopsy on November 02, 2006. The Medical Examiner stated an anatomic summary as follows, "full-thickness thermal burns; 100 percent of skin surfaces, with carbon monoxide asphyxiation."

Additional information

The inaccessibility of the accident site prohibited the wreckage from being recovered.