- Date
- September 17, 1991, 14:15 local (20:15 UTC)
- Place
- Yellow Pine, ID
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9654HAeronca 7DC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 28, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910917040489A
- Case key
- 41540
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Improper inflight planning/decision by the pilot, which resulted in inadvertent flight into a box canyon and subsequent collision with trees, when there was insufficient space to reverse course and the aircraft would not outclimb rising terrain. The terrain conditions and high density altitude were related factors.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot reported that after taking off from a remote strip in mountainous terrain, he inadvertantly entered a box canyon. Rising terrain in the canyon exceeded the climb capability of the aircraft. Subsequently, the aircraft crashed into trees and was destroyed. The density altitude at the site was about 7600 ft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9654H
- Reported as
- Aeronca 7DC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7BCM-146
- Engine
- Continental C-85-8F, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Steven G. Joachim
- Registered owner
- Steven G. Joachim
- Departed
- Yellow Pine, ID
- Airport
- Indian Creek, runway 4, 5,000 × 100 ft
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 710 total · 179 in this make and model · 631 as pilot in command · 89 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Observed at
- NONE, 5 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.