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NTSB Identification: LAX07FA062
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, December 18, 2006 in Young, AZ
Aircraft: Cirrus Design Corp. SR22, registration: N457S
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected
when the final report has been completed.
On December 18, 2006, about 1830 mountain standard time, a Cirrus Design Corp. SR22, N457S, impacted mountainous terrain
on the northwest portion of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation near Young, Arizona. The private pilot/owner operated the airplane
under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. The airplane was destroyed. The instrumented rated pilot, the
sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight that
departed Winslow-Lindberg Regional Airport (INW), Winslow, Arizona, about 1715, for Henderson Executive Airport, (HND), Las
Vegas, Nevada. No flight plan had been filed. The wreckage came to rest at global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of
33 degrees 54.81 minutes north latitude and 110 degrees 41.545 minutes west longitude at an elevation of 4,600 feet mean sea
level (msl).
The flight became the subject of an Alert Notification (ALNOT) about 1830 Pacific standard time on December 18, 2006,
after the pilot had not checked in with her spouse who was waiting at HND for her arrival.
The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC) interviewed the husband of the pilot. He stated
that they had spoken at several different times throughout the day of the accident. She had departed Chinle Municipal Airport
(E91), Chinle, Arizona, about 1400 for HND. About 45 minutes later, while en route to HND, she called to let her husband know
that she was between cloud layers and was going to land at INW. After landing at INW, they spoke again and decided that she
would stay overnight in Winslow until the weather cleared.
The husband stated that he contacted Reno Flight Service Station (RNO FSS) and requested a weather briefing; at that time
RNO FSS indicated that for the next 24-36 hours there would be a weather buildup passing through New Mexico. He relayed the
information to the pilot, and a decision was made for him to drive from Henderson to Winslow and pick her up. About 15 minutes
later, the pilot called him to tell him that the skies were clear in INW and she wanted to fly south towards Chandler, Arizona,
and then over to HND. He called RNO FSS back at 1500 and received another weather update, which reported: broken and scattered
cloud layers at 9,000 and 11,000 feet msl, and clear skies below 8,500 feet msl. He relayed the updated information to the
pilot. At that time, they agreed upon a route of flight from INW down to Chandler, and then over to Henderson. He had no further
communications with the pilot.
According to the airport manager at INW, the pilot had borrowed a vehicle from the airport to drive into town and get
a hotel room for the night. About 1700 he saw the car parked next to the accident airplane. About 1715, the accident airplane
departed INW.
The Safety Board IIC reviewed weather information along the proposed route of flight and noted instrument meteorological
conditions (IMC) and a freezing level near 6,500 feet.
On December 23, 2006, at 1445, an Arizona Air National Guard helicopter flight crew spotted a partially deployed orange
and white parachute. About 2 hours later, an Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) helicopter flight crew responded to
the accident site. At 1900, the DPS helicopter transported a team of rescue volunteers from the Tonto Rim Search and Rescue
squad to maintain site security until the following morning when a detective from the Gila County Sheriff's Department could
respond to the accident site.
The detective noted that the airplane impacted the side of a canyon wall about 200 feet below a mesa. The area was made
up of dense trees and scrub brush on a 30-degree slope. The airplane was on a magnetic heading of 134 degrees.
The Safety Board IIC and a representative from Cirrus, a party to the investigation, responded to the accident site. They
noted several broken tree branches along the debris path. The CAPS (Cirrus Airframe Parachute System) system had deployed
due to impact forces.
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