Sad day for RedTail Aviation and the Bureu of Rec.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3431613

Hope to get more info soon for analysis.

Just flew over the Needles district two weeks ago when my passenger commented " this is the most rugged terrain I've ever seen".

Flew in that area about this time in 1906. Was flying a 182B and was glad I had the power. I was flying with LaVar Wells from Red Tail. What did they have to do with it.

Landed at several of the strips in that area.

Tim

Apparently he was a pilot for Red Tail Aviation. Not sure if this was one of their planes or not.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9436369?source=rss

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdat ... 96927.html

Sounds like he was neat guy who loved the backcountry.

qmdv wrote:Flew in that area about this time in 1906.
Tim

Gee, you must be real old.

Savannah-Tom wrote:Gee, you must be real old.

He is...

Gump

We spent a bunch of time flying out of CNY over the last six months. We kept two Huskies in the hangar next to the one owned by John. Both John, and his wife Dell, also a pilot, were very well thought of. This is just terrible.

George

Yep I am old. Also was flying the only Cessna.

Tim

Update from NTSB:

NTSB Identification: SEA08FA146
Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Friday, May 30, 2008 in Monticello, UT
Aircraft: Cessna 172R, registration: N389ES
Injuries: 2 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 May 30, 2008, about 1030 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172R, N389ES, sustained substantial damage after impacting remote mountainous terrain while maneuvering about 32 nautical miles northwest of Monticello, Utah. The certificated commercial pilot and his sole passenger were killed. The airplane was registered to and operated by Redtail Aviation, of Price, Utah. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the sightseeing tour flight, which was operated in accordance with 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135, and a company flight plan was filed and activated. The local flight departed the Canyonlands Airport (CNY), which is located in Moab, Utah, about 0815.

According to company personnel, the tour flight would normally take about two and one-half hours in the Cessna 172R. Approximately 2 hours into the flight the accident pilot reported to another company pilot operating in the area that he was at the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers; there were no further transmissions heard from the accident pilot. Company personnel became concerned when the flight failed to return to CNY, prompting an Alert Notification (ALNOT) to be issued at 1321. The airplane was subsequently located about 1500 near the Joint Trail in the Canyonlands National Park, at an elevation of 5,423 feet mean sea level. There was no post crash fire.

According to a hiker who was in the area hiking the Joint Trail alone, as she was looking north she observed an airplane fly from her left to her right and perpendicular to her field of vision in a right bank and below the rim of a canyon. The witness stated that she momentarily lost sight of the airplane, which reappeared a minute or so later, this time flying from her right to her left, still below the rim of the canyon, but this time lower and in a steep bank before it went out of sight; the witness was not sure if it was in a left or right bank. The witness further stated that during both visual sightings of the airplane she failed to hear any engine noise. The witness revealed that on her hike back to the trail's originating point, she came upon the airplane wreckage about 1300. The witness reported that there was no fire, and that because of the leaking fuel and the smell of fumes present, she elected to proceed to the head of the trail to notify park rangers of the accident.

The wreckage was recovered from the accident site and retained for further investigation