SEA93LA193

The pilot was maneuvering at a slow airspeed and low altitude above the ground while searching for a missing aircraft. He initiated a turn, and the aircraft stalled, descended uncontrolled and impacted the ground.

On Monday afternoon, September 6, 1993, at 1258 mountain daylight time, a Cessna C-172N, registered to the pilot, impacted terrain 30 miles east of Price, Utah, in an uncontrolled descent. There was no flight plan filed for the personal flight, conducted under 14 CFR 91 in visual meteorological conditions, that departed Price, Utah at 1200, September 6, 1993, with the intended destination of Roosevelt, Utah. The private certificated pilot and the one passenger aboard suffered minor injuries in the accident. The aircraft was substantially damaged. There was no fire. The pilot reported to the Carbon County Sheriff who responded to the site that the aircraft flaps malfunctioned and he was unable to maintain altitude. He said he made a forced landing in a mountain meadow. An aircraft mechanic, Mr. Randy Goodrich, who was contracted to examine the wreckage, reported there was no evidence of any malfunction of the flaps or flight controls. The pilot did not indicate there was any aircraft mechanical malfunction in the pilot report, NTSB Form 6120.1/2, he submitted. The passenger, who declined to submit a written statement, stated in a telephone interview that the purpose of the flight was to search for a missing aircraft. He said the pilot had flown into a mountain pass and was circling what appeared to be an aircraft wreckage when the stall warning horn activated and the aircraft dropped. Witnesses on the ground, Mike DeVaney and David Summers, reported the aircraft flew overhead at a low altitude, dropped a can, began a left turn and started to fall. Mr. Summers estimated the aircraft speed was about 40 MPH. He said the aircraft started tipping from side to side, then went into the ground. Both witnesses indicated they responded to the accident site. Mr. DeVaney wrote in a witness statement that the pilot said the stall buzzer was going off and that he could not get the plane to make it over the hill. The Carbon County, Utah, sheriff reported that he interviewed the pilot and the passenger after the accident. He wrote in his report of the mishap that the pilot stated he thought the accident resulted from a flap malfunction. He wrote that passenger Shaw stated the pilot was banking left when the stall alarm went off, and that they slowed up, lost their speed and went down.